Healing Track Targets Kashmir's Addiction

A diaspora-led project uses Kashmiri Sufi thought to challenge the region's rising drug crisis and reach those who feel alone.

- Fiza Masoodi

From urban clinics to rural centers, doctors say more young people are coming in with addiction issues, especially involving heroin and new synthetic drugs.

Hospital records show the same trend. Families whisper about it at home. Teachers say they notice subtle signs in their classrooms.

The worry has grown silently, turning addiction into one of Kashmir's most pressing public concerns.

Now, a new song from the Kashmiri American diaspora is trying to break through that silence.

"Needle to Noor" begins with a soft, prayer-like tune that opens into a gentle plea for honesty.

The collective behind it, Sufi-Pulse, uses the shift from needle to noor, or light, to describe the long, difficult walk from despair back to life.

Listeners in the valley are calling it “saada-e-najaat,” a voice urging people to seek help before more lives slip away.

The project took shape from the messages SufiPulse received over the years. Each one carried the story of a son, cousin or friend in trouble. Families wrote about shame, fear and hesitation. The team saw how stigma was shaping the crisis. Silence was becoming a wall inside homes where help was needed early.

They held on to a simple belief: a reputation can recover, a life cannot.