Drug Abuse among Youth in Pakistan: A Human Rights and Class Perspective

Drug abuse among young people is a rising concern worldwide. Youth in Pakistan is no exception. This study has tried to bring out the linkages between the class and implementation of human rights issues towards the young drug abusers in Pakistan. The research has tried to draw linkages between the patterns of drug abuse among youth of different social classes, Government’s and Non Government Organizations’ response, and society’s response towards the issue of drug abuse as well as drug abusers themselves. The analysis of the data shows the Government’s failure of respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights of the young people of the country especially the rights to health, education, discrimination, and safe and protected environment. Secondly, NGOs were not able to provide the long term facilities to the clients because of the lack of funding and the treatments provided catered only to the male youth. Lastly, clash between the classes was evident in the interviews conducted with the individuals to understand the society’s response.