IT was distressing to see pictures (Dec 14) of over 50 men and children shackled in a seminary, which is also believed to be a rehabilitation centre in Sohrab Goth, Karachi. Some of the children in the picture do not seem to be more than eight years old. It was painful to see them in shackles.

These individuals were allegedly being treated for drug addiction by clerics who had no medical or nursing background. I really doubt that such young children were actually ‘addicts’; therefore, what went on in the seminary remains a mystery.

The Afghan war in the 1980s brought heroin trade in the settled areas of Pakistan which led to an increase in drug addicts. According to the statistics by the Sindh anti-narcotics organisation, there is an annual increase of seven per cent in drug addicts in Pakistan.

The organisation says that there are about five million drug users in the country, of which 1.5 million are heroin addicts.

This is a cause for great concern but it doesn’t mean that as a society we should incarcerate individuals suffering from this problem. There are many ways of addressing drug addiction but the most efficient and evidence-based methods are a combination of bio-psycho-social approach. There are a number of medications that can be used to help them ‘detox’ of the offending substance, and others can be used to prevent relapse.

During this period they should be supported with formal psychological therapies and social interventions which help them readjust their social network.

We do not even want to approach the sufferers of drug addiction humanely, let alone rehabilitate them. It is time robust policies were adopted to address the issue. Besides, such bogus rehabilitation centres should be outlawed.

DR YASIR ABBASI Consultant Psychiatrist in Addictions Leeds, UK