Around 3,000 drug addicts were taken to a rehabilitation center for medical treatment within the past two weeks, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.  

“We have begun a rapid treatment of drug addicts. We will bring other addicts to the (hospital) in the coming days,” said Saeed Khosti, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. “The process will come into effect in other provinces until the rate of drug addicts hit a zero point.”   

The officials have ramped up a 1,000 bed treatment center to 3,000 beds to expedite the process of rehabilitating drug addicts.  

The drug addicts praised the efforts of the government but said there are people appointed as team leaders who are also affected by drugs and do not treat other patients properly.  

“We are happy that we are under treatment here but we are not being treated with proper behavior. Those are appointed above us, they are also addicted to drugs. But the staff and doctors of the hospital have a fair behavior towards us,” said Shah Agha, a drug addict.  

The head of the hospital, Dr. Ahmad Zahir Sultani, said that the Health and Interior Ministries have been providing the facilities for the drug addict treatment.   

“As winter is on the way, the Ministry of the Interior in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health decided to collect the drug addicts from the city and provide treatment for them here. All types of facilities have been provided by these two ministries,” he said.  

The Interior Ministry said that the reason for the treatment of drug addicts was to overcome the drug trafficking in the country.  

Based on statistics, there are approximately three million drug addicts in Afghanistan.