The chief of the Khatlon Police Department, Lieutenant-General Iskandar Solehzoda, is seriously concerned over the increase in drug addiction among youth and rising prostitution in the province.  At the same time, he noted that “most of those persons have a stable social life.”

He remarked this on February 5 at a meeting with reporters in Bokhtar, the capital of the Khatlon province. 

In a statement released at a  news conference, the general noted that the findings of a survey on a social status of drug addicts in the area showed that most of them “belong to the category of people who have a stable social life.”  

“It is natural, because you need money to buy a “dose”.  The majority of drug users in the province are sons of regional officials,” Solehzoda noted.  

However, the general did not cite any specific facts.

Concerning the problem of prostitution in the province, he noted that the majority of them also have a stable social life.  

“They have a house and they have no problems, but still engaged in prostitution,” Solehzoda added.  

He further noted that those two problems were urgent and required attention and solutions.