SRINAGAR: On a chilly winter afternoon, Padma Shri award-winning sports coach Faisal Ali Dar received a tip-off about Pregabalin parcels being delivered through an e-commerce service.
On the face of it, the medicines were prescription drugs ordered through the proper channel. However, behind it was a sinister design. Peddlers and consumers were faking prescription slips and mailing them to the online pharmacy firms. Undetected, the parcel was landing at their doorsteps.
“It was a novel way of procuring drugs. Pregabalin is a muscle relaxant. But it is being used by addicts as a drug. Drug peddlers and addicts are one step ahead of us. They can go to any extent to procure drugs. It is this chain which we have to break,” Dar, a social activist from Bandipora who has been an anti-drug campaigner for eight years, told The Kashmir Monitor.
Sensing the mounting crisis, the government has launched 100-day Nasha Mukt Jammu and Kashmir campaign to hit the drug cartels at the grassroots level. It has already started delivering positive results. Religious clerics, civil society members, students, and others have joined hands to fight this menace.
Sample this: When influential Jamait Ahle Hadees cleric Moulana Mushtaq Ahmad Veeri joined the sought support for the government’s 100-day Nasha Mukt Jammu and Kashmir campaign, the battle was half won.
“We should support the administration in this initiative. We have seen how 12-year-olds are addicted to drugs. We congratulate the LG government on this campaign. So many people involved in this trade have been arrested over the last one week. It is a very good step, and we all must support it,” Verri told people.
Data presented in the Parliament reveal that drug seizures in Jammu and Kashmir stood at 11,066 kg in 2023, 5,708 kg in 2024, and 4,491 kg in 2025. Police data reveal that 1,863 FIRs were registered, and 2,592 individuals were arrested in drug-related cases. Judicial outcomes have also improved, with 229 convictions involving 270 persons. Police have seized 296 kg of charas, 53.8 kg of heroin, and 397 kg of ganja during different anti-narcotic operations. To curb pharmaceutical abuse, over 27,500 capsules of Pregabalin and Tapentadol valued at ₹12.76 lakh were seized. Additionally, illicit cannabis and poppy on 736 acres of land were destroyed.
Jammu and Kashmir now ranks third in attaching the property of drug criminals under the `Proceeds of Narcotics’ provisions. Under these provisions, assets worth ₹70.67 crore have already been attached. In 2025 alone, 259 houses and 111 vehicles were attached, while properties worth another ₹50 crore are pending confirmation.
“The 100-day Nasha Mukt Jammu and Kashmir campaign is a step-in right direction. We have seen how youngsters relapse. Lack of awareness and easy availability of substances were luring the addicts. This campaign will address this phenomenon,” Dr Mohammad Abrar Guroo, senior consultant at Tele MANAS, told The Kashmir Monitor.
Data presented in the Legislative Assembly reveal that over 70,000 people, mostly youth, are involved in substance abuse in Kashmir. Of them, 50,000 are heroin users. The startling figures were based on a joint survey conducted by the Health and Social Welfare departments in 10 districts of Kashmir in 2022.
“We have given voice to a resolve that will reach every village, town, city, home, and heartbeat in UT, fulfilling the pledge of a drug-free region. The next three months are pivotal, with the campaign advancing in six clear phases- Awareness intensive drives, youth-focused events, community engagement, strict enforcement, rehabilitation, and evaluation. We will move forward with a whole-of-government approach to rid J&K of the drug menace. The administration will confiscate all property, revoke licenses, passports, and Aadhaar, and freeze bank accounts of all those involved. This crackdown against drug smugglers will echo through generations,” said LG Sinha, who is leading the war on drugs.