Pakistan’s Liberal System is to Blame for the Country’s Drugs Epidemic which is Destroying the Lives of its Youth

A recent shocking report prepared by a non-government organization (NGO) stated that 44 to 53% of students in elite private schools in Islamabad were addicted to drugs. Students claimed they obtained the intoxicants from fellow pupils, street vendors or even teachers. The average age of those addicted to drugs in these private schools is 12-19, but some as young as 8 have been reported. There is also a significant drugs and alcohol problem in the country’s colleges and universities. Recently newspapers reported that three boys from a renowned university were rushed to hospital due to consuming poisonous alcohol, one of whom sadly died while the other two remained in critical condition. The findings of this report which surveyed 44 institutions was presented to Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics. The Committee Chairman, Abdul Rehman Malik consequently stated that he declared a war on drugs and that mandatory drugs tests should be performed on students in educational institutions to prevent this trend of drug addiction.

It is ironic that Pakistan’s rulers declare a war on drugs while simultaneously presiding over and celebrating their liberal system whose values provide the ammunition which fuels the drugs culture in states the world over. Successive secular regimes in Pakistan have implemented an open-door policy to the import of the destructive liberal beliefs and lifestyle of Western nations into the society through media, education, organisations and other avenues and conscientiously promoted them amongst the population while simultaneously minimizing the teaching of Islam in its educational institutions. This liberal culture nurtures a hedonistic, self-gratifying mentality and lifestyle of simply pursing individualistic desires and pleasures and living for this Dunya and for the moment, with no regard for the harmful consequences in this life or the Hereafter. It is hardly surprising therefore that Pakistan as with other Muslim countries whose governments have followed the heels of Western states in embracing this toxic liberal system is now plagued with the same self-destructing drug and alcohol culture afflicting youth in the West. Furthermore, when Pakistan’s secular leadership doggedly imitates and showers admiration on the flawed Western political system, following its shadow slavishly in political, economic, and social matters, it inevitably conveys the deleterious message to the youth that the liberal lifestyle and system is the superior way of life that should be adopted.

The drug problem affecting the youth of Pakistan and the general society cannot be solved by empty condemnatory statements which the Muslims of Pakistan are fatigued with, or knee-jerk policies which amount to nothing but gesture politics. Western states have over decades organized countless anti-drug campaigns and implemented a raft of anti-drug legislation, yet the epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction continues within their societies. It is only by rejecting the liberal values and system and reviving and strengthening the Islamic beliefs in the minds of the youth and the general society that the drugs problem can be resolved. This is because it is the Islamic beliefs alone which build personalities who live according to the concept of accountability to Allah (swt), shun all intoxicants and the hedonistic lifestyle, and understand that every action is linked to reward or punishment in the Hereafter. This is why when the Prophet (saw) conveyed to the Muslims the Qur’anic verse prohibiting alcohol, they immediately stopped consuming it and threw it out from their homes, due to their love of their Deen and obedience of their Rabb, such that the streets of Madinah were flowing with discarded alcohol. It is only the Khilafah (Caliphate) based upon the method of the Prophethood which rules by Islam alone which will ensure that its media, schools, and all aspects of the state promote the sublime Islamic values amongst the society and eradicate all destructive beliefs and lifestyles from our lands, raising youth with exemplary personalities. We call the Muslims of Pakistan to therefore reject the toxic liberal system and support the urgent establishment of this noble Khilafah state which will save our Muslim youth from destruction, secure for them good futures, make them devoted servants of their Rabb, and support them in achieving success in the Hereafter.

Women’s Section

in The Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir