ISLAMABAD — The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan convened a high-level meeting on ‘Drug Prevention, Awareness, and Control Measures in Educational Institutions’ to review reported incidents of substance abuse and reinforce preventive strategies across higher education institutions (HEIs).
Chaired by lawmaker Ms Rabia Naseem Farooqi, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) and Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, the session focused on enhancing institutional responses, awareness drives, campus monitoring, and inter-agency coordination. The meeting was attended by Director General Research & Analysis Activities (R&AA) HEC Engr. Saleem Ullah Sohoo, alongside key representatives from the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police.
Briefing the Chair on HEC’s ongoing anti-narcotics and tobacco control initiatives, Engr. Saleem Ullah Sohoo presented a detailed review of reported cases from 2025 and updates spanning January to September 2026. He outlined the corrective and preventive measures implemented by universities, highlighting HEC’s joint enforcement and awareness campaigns conducted in partnership with the ANF and law enforcement agencies.
Representatives from the ANF and ICT Police shared updates on current enforcement protocols. They stressed the critical need for robust internal institutional mechanisms, streamlined joint actions, and sustained campus awareness campaigns to curb both supply and usage effectively.
Lawmaker Urges Coordinated Action to Eradicate Campus Drug Abuse
In her closing remarks, Ms Rabia Naseem Farooqi commended HEC and regional universities for their proactive stance, while emphasising the need for regular review sessions to track implementation progress. The lawmaker proposed hosting a comprehensive roundtable discussion featuring the heads of public and private universities across Islamabad and members of their respective Anti-Drug and Tobacco Committees (ADTCs) to address operational challenges and map out a unified action plan.
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