The US withdrawal from Afghanistan has seen an uptick in the use of illicit drugs, including ICE (crystal meth). Experts allege that the police are colluding with drug traffickers from Afghanistan via Balochistan, to supply narcotics nationwide. The plentiful supply of drugs to young people has resulted in murders and other incidents of violent crime across the country.
In recent days, Sindhi poet Dr Akaash Ansari was stabbed and killed by his ICE addicted adopted son, Latif in Hyderabad, Sindh. Although father and son had undergone a rocky relationship, the mild-mannered poet often forgave him for bad behavior. However, the altercation had reached a level where Dr Akaash had begun to censor his son. Psychiatrists maintain that harboring a grudge, Latif planned his father’s murder – first stabbing him brutally and then setting his room on fire.
Another incident circulating in the media concerns a DHA resident, Armagan, accused of killing his friend Mustafa Amir in a petty dispute and then driving to Hub, Balochistan to set his car on fire. The DHA resident harbored a huge stockpile of weapons and reportedly sold narcotics in his heavily fortified home. .
As the administration grapples with multiple issues, the growing violence in the country hearkens back to the availability of ICE. Also known as crystal meth, the purity of the substance provides instant highs, but also reinforces negative behaviors that have tragic consequences.