Most horrifying side effects of war on terror

How true. A road leading to a dead end, no chance of turning back, no one to help you slow down, let alone stop and turn back. Drug abuse is a problem faced by every country, however it is less obvious in developed countries where they have adequate means to help such individuals, the true horrific effects of such substance abuse can only be seen in places where the much needed help and support is not readily available. Today we take a journey down such road, looking at images depicting the horros faced by these people, many of them the sole bread winners for their families.

Our contributing photographer Dr. Altamash Kamal (Karachi, Pakistan), takes us down this journey, where he shares with us the devastation caused by heorin, as captured by his lens. These photos were taken in Karachi, Pakistan.

No, he is not dead, but will be within a couple of years if he doesnt get help. for now flies have a feast on his face once he passes out after his heroin fix. This is the price Pakistan has paid for being next to the land-locked Afghanistan which is the worlds biggest producer of heroin. Pakistan has become the major export route for Afghan heroin. This in turn brought the drug mafia who was very keen to develop a local market for their produce. Here lies one of their happy consumers.

Surveys indicate that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among intravenous drug users in the city is about 35%, yet if you look, you find people sharing needles in dark alleys and secluded corners all over the place. Strangely, in the cities at least, they all know the risk, but that doesnt change anything. Altamash Kamal

This young boy waits in a drug den waiting for friends to arrive with his next heroin fix. Altamash Kamal

Another heroin addict waiting for his fix.Heroin is one of the most addictive substances known. it captures the body and the mind of the addict. withdrawal from it is very painful, even to watch from from a distance.
Soon after i took this picture, he was busy helping his friend find a vein so the friend could inject himself with a fix. despite some NGOs operating free needle exchange programs in the city, few addicts use them consistently. Maybe because they are few and far between? The probability of getting infected by sharing a needle with a HIV carrier is around 99%. The governments health system is almost completely absent. they leave it to the NGOs to provide needle exchange, counselling and treatment.
Pakistan spends just 1% of it budget on heath and education (each) and 20 times that on getting fancy toys and other goodies for its generals to live like royalty. and the people who need help go untreated. Altamash Kamal

Two users preparing their fix. Altamash Kamal

Karachi, is the largest city in Pakistan and one of the biggest in the world population wise. The pictures these images paint points to a bigger problem, a problem faced by most of the developing world. These problems existed before as well, however, after the afghan war, these problems have increased in Pakistan many fold and hence it is more evident here. Pakistan/Afghanistan border runs through rough terrain and mountains, making it extremely difficult to man it at every single point of crossing, hence giving rise to a growing and thriving market for drug dealers. While the Pakistani government partners with US in dealing with Taleban and terrorism, its own people are getting drugged to death, inflation and poverty is not helping things either. ( http://www.coloursmag.com/?p=32)