THE CONTROL OF NARCOTICS SUBSTANCES ACT 1997: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Date.28 Jan, 2025
Pakistan’s drug policy framework, centered on the Control of Narcotics Substances Act (CNSA) of 1997, stands at a critical juncture. Currently, over 21,000 people (21% of the country’s prison population) are incarcerated for drug offenses—a number that continues to rise. The CNSA was introduced to address Pakistan’s unique challenges as a transit country bordering the world’s largest poppy cultivator, but recent amendments have made the law increasingly punitive. The 2022 Amendment instituted harsher sentencing guidelines and removed possibilities for parole and probation; while the 2023 Amendment abolished the death penalty for drug offenses, though 20 prisoners remain on death row from earlier convictions.
The policy brief examines how implementation of this framework has revealed serious shortcomings in Pakistan’s approach to drug control. It highlights how law enforcement disproportionately targets low-level offenders while trafficking networks remain intact, rehabilitation services reach less than 2% of people with drug dependencies, and procedural safeguards have been eroded. Against the backdrop of global trends toward decriminalization and harm reduction in thirty countries worldwide, the brief recommends specific reforms: distinguishing between personal use and trafficking in sentencing, expanding rehabilitation services, commuting existing death sentences, and shifting toward a health-centered approach.
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