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In Chitral, home is the opium den for women and children braving cold
SIRAJUDDIN
A woman is preparing to smoke opium. — Photo by author
PESHAWAR: They are not junkies or a group of friends, but family members smoking opium on a freezing cold evening in Baroghil Valley — a small town situated in the extreme north of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral district.
A traditional chillum (pipe) is passed from one member to another — including children — as they hunker on their knees, while thick smoke permeates the main room in one of Baroghil's households.
A man smokes opium. — Photo by author
“We smoke opium because we have no other option; it helps us to ward off the biting cold,” says Ahmed Tajik, a resident of Lashkargash village in Baroghil — where the mercury drops below -15°C in winter.
While saying this, he puffs smoke in the face of his five- year-old son.
70 per cent in Baroghil addicted to opium
According to locals and researchers, more than 70 per cent of the population in Baroghil valley is addicted to opium smoking.
A view of Baroghil Valley. — Photo by author
The valley is situated at about 12,500 feet in the extreme northeast and is nearly 280 kilometres away from Chitral town — the headquarters of landlocked Chitral district. It is located at the junction of Hindukush, Karakoram and Pamir ranges and borders with Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Wakhan Patti.
The mountainous valley comprises nine villages with nearly 4,000 households.
Opium procured from Afghanistan
Opium is not locally cultivated in Baroghil but smuggled from Afghanistan, which is the largest producer of the drug in the world.
Wakhi tribes living in Baroghil are given to the traditional way of smoking. They prepare opium in a chillum, a process which takes about 30 to 40 minutes.
"For a perennial effect, opium is mixed with aspirin and paracetamol," says local resident Amin Jan.
"It is then put into the burning chamber of the chillum with a flaming piece of charcoal at the bottom which heats up the mixture. Then people inhale the fume through a pipe."
The drug costs Rs1,000 per tola (11 gram). A tola lasts for about two to four days. Majority of Baroghil's residents spend their hard-earned money on buying opium.
Women and children huddle together in their house. — Photo by the author
"The entire population in the valley is deprived of a basic livelihood with no access to health, education and other facilities," says Jan.
He also states that a lack of entertainment activities in the area has compounded the addiction. "Heavy snow compels locals to remain indoors round-the-clock during winter; and given the lack of activity, they take to consuming the drug fervently."
An elderly woman smoking opium. — Photo by author
A traditional Wakhi house consists of one bedroom. "Opium is smoked in the main living room. After dinner, every house in the valley begins to reek of its smell," he adds.
"Passive smoking triggers others, especially children, to take to the drug as well," he said, while sharing that he gave up on it some years ago.
The addiction has created serious economical, physiological and health problems among locals.
Local residents, however, say that opium usage is part of the Wakhi culture and can be linked back even before the creation of Pakistan.
In the past few years, the remote valley has also gained an international reputation for freestyle unique yak polo which is played in July every year.
People play a game of polo. — Photo courtesy: KP Tourism Corporation
Yak and cattle are the main sources of income in the valley. "Yak has a good market, but people spend mostly on opium,”said a native Zakirullah, who also quit opium smoking a few years ago.
"I was a daily-wage worker for rich employers and would accept opium from my boss in exchange of salary. But I'm not the only one in line; there are dozens of young labourers taking opium instead of money.”
According to Zakir, people nurture their animals only to sell them at a good price later, enabling them to buy opium for winter.
SIRAJUDDIN
A woman is preparing to smoke opium. — Photo by author
PESHAWAR: They are not junkies or a group of friends, but family members smoking opium on a freezing cold evening in Baroghil Valley — a small town situated in the extreme north of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral district.
A traditional chillum (pipe) is passed from one member to another — including children — as they hunker on their knees, while thick smoke permeates the main room in one of Baroghil's households.
A man smokes opium. — Photo by author
“We smoke opium because we have no other option; it helps us to ward off the biting cold,” says Ahmed Tajik, a resident of Lashkargash village in Baroghil — where the mercury drops below -15°C in winter.
While saying this, he puffs smoke in the face of his five- year-old son.
70 per cent in Baroghil addicted to opium
According to locals and researchers, more than 70 per cent of the population in Baroghil valley is addicted to opium smoking.
A view of Baroghil Valley. — Photo by author
The valley is situated at about 12,500 feet in the extreme northeast and is nearly 280 kilometres away from Chitral town — the headquarters of landlocked Chitral district. It is located at the junction of Hindukush, Karakoram and Pamir ranges and borders with Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Wakhan Patti.
The mountainous valley comprises nine villages with nearly 4,000 households.
Opium procured from Afghanistan
Opium is not locally cultivated in Baroghil but smuggled from Afghanistan, which is the largest producer of the drug in the world.
Wakhi tribes living in Baroghil are given to the traditional way of smoking. They prepare opium in a chillum, a process which takes about 30 to 40 minutes.
"For a perennial effect, opium is mixed with aspirin and paracetamol," says local resident Amin Jan.
"It is then put into the burning chamber of the chillum with a flaming piece of charcoal at the bottom which heats up the mixture. Then people inhale the fume through a pipe."
The drug costs Rs1,000 per tola (11 gram). A tola lasts for about two to four days. Majority of Baroghil's residents spend their hard-earned money on buying opium.
Women and children huddle together in their house. — Photo by the author
"The entire population in the valley is deprived of a basic livelihood with no access to health, education and other facilities," says Jan.
He also states that a lack of entertainment activities in the area has compounded the addiction. "Heavy snow compels locals to remain indoors round-the-clock during winter; and given the lack of activity, they take to consuming the drug fervently."
An elderly woman smoking opium. — Photo by author
A traditional Wakhi house consists of one bedroom. "Opium is smoked in the main living room. After dinner, every house in the valley begins to reek of its smell," he adds.
"Passive smoking triggers others, especially children, to take to the drug as well," he said, while sharing that he gave up on it some years ago.
The addiction has created serious economical, physiological and health problems among locals.
Local residents, however, say that opium usage is part of the Wakhi culture and can be linked back even before the creation of Pakistan.
In the past few years, the remote valley has also gained an international reputation for freestyle unique yak polo which is played in July every year.
People play a game of polo. — Photo courtesy: KP Tourism Corporation
Yak and cattle are the main sources of income in the valley. "Yak has a good market, but people spend mostly on opium,”said a native Zakirullah, who also quit opium smoking a few years ago.
"I was a daily-wage worker for rich employers and would accept opium from my boss in exchange of salary. But I'm not the only one in line; there are dozens of young labourers taking opium instead of money.”
According to Zakir, people nurture their animals only to sell them at a good price later, enabling them to buy opium for winter.
