Friday, May 22, 2026 –
In one of the most substantive civil society-led responses to Kashmir’s worsening drug menace, a cross-disciplinary gathering of experts descended on the Amar Singh Club in Srinagar on Friday under the banner of Common Interest Conversations — the same platform that previously tackled digital addiction and women’s wellbeing — this time squarely confronting substance abuse under the theme “Resilient Minds, Drug-Free Future.”
The programme was chaired by Senior Supreme Court Counsel Advocate Zaffar A. Shah, who opened with a frank admission: the drug crisis has grown large enough that it can no longer be contained within hospital wards or police registers. It demands public discourse and structural reflection. He argued that punitive action alone would never be sufficient — that society must first understand the emotional and social vulnerabilities that are quietly pushing young Kashmiris toward addiction.
The room was notably diverse: psychiatrists, High Court advocates, SKIMS professors, school administrators, social welfare officers, youth activists, and senior educationists — representing precisely the cross-sectoral coalition experts say is needed to address a crisis that cuts across families, schools, clinics, and courtrooms alike.
Prof. Dr. Abdul Majid Ganai, former Head of Community Medicine at SKIMS, made the case for prevention over cure. Drawing from decades of clinical experience, he stressed that the primary responsibility of every institution must be to protect those who have not yet been touched by addiction — particularly children and youth — before they enter what he described as a “dangerous cycle.” Treating addiction after the damage is done, he argued, is far more costly and far less effective than timely intervention.
Dr. Shazia Kounser, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Kashmir Medical College, and Dr. Fazl-e-Roub, a Consultant Psychiatrist at GMC Srinagar, added clinical depth to the discussion, mapping the psychiatric dimensions of substance dependency and the limited mental health infrastructure currently available to addicts across the Valley.
Private Schools’ Association J&K president Bilal Ahmad Bhat captured the sentiment of the room plainly: drug addiction has become a social concern touching nearly every section of society, and it now demands intervention not just from health workers or police, but from teachers, parents, and community leaders.
Club Secretary Nasir Hamid Khan noted that the programme was designed to transform expert knowledge into actionable public awareness — and to push those ideas toward policymakers who must ultimately act.
The backdrop to this gathering is stark. The J&K administration has been running an aggressive 100-day Nasha Mukt campaign under Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, involving arrests, demolitions of drug traffickers’ properties, and intensified enforcement. But civil society voices at events like this are increasingly insisting that enforcement without rehabilitation, community support, and mental health investment will only treat symptoms — not the disease.
