Srinagar, May 9 : Apni Party president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Saturday described drug addiction as a “human issue” and called for a collective solution beyond legal and political perspectives.
“If we only look at it from the perspective of law, I don’t think there is a solution to it,” Bukhari told news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS).
He advised the government not to view the matter through a political lens, stressing the need for concerted efforts to address the long-pending demand. Priority should be given to reducing the health impact of substance abuse, he added.
“Slowly, slowly, we will find a solution to how to move this forward,” Altaf Bukhari said.
Responding to a question about people losing homes during the drug-free campaign, the Apni Party president said, “Right now, I am more concerned about these people than the drug-free campaign. This is a problem of the lives of 50 percent, 10 lakh people.”
Altaf Bukhari clarified he was not making promises as a party leader but standing with the affected as a fellow citizen of Srinagar. “They are not separate, we are not separate. We are with them as the poor people of the city of Srinagar,” he said.
Dismissing comparisons to VIP visits, he added, “We are not high dignitaries. We are ordinary people from Srinagar.” He assured that he and his associates would continue raising the issue and visiting affected areas for public benefit. (KNS)
