LAHORE: Pharmacists on Wednesday protested against the government’s anti-poor policies at the Lahore Press Club.
Addressing the participants, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker Dr Nausheen Hamid said she would press Health Minister Salman Rafique to start medicine registration and licencing in the province. She added that she would also move a bill in the Punjab Assembly for this purpose. Nausheen said that it is height of criminality to hire Aslam Afghani as DRAP CEO, who is the owner of “killer group of companies” – Otsuka Pharma and EfrozePharma. She said she would bring a resolution against all those who are involved in Afghani’s illegal appointment. Afghani was imprisoned on the order of the Peshawar Drug Court.
Dr Nausheen said that she would also bring a resolution on the reversal of illegal price increase of 1,050 medicines. She added, “We will bring down the price of hepatitis medicine to Rs 40 per tablet and I will bring a resolution in Punjab Assembly to investigate that how a company looted poor Pakistanis by giving a tablet for Rs 2,000. Those who are involved in this criminal price hike will be held accountable.”
PTI Senior Vice President Dr Aneesa Fatima said that she would bring the matter of illegal price increase before the party’s central executive committee. She said the PTI would bring resolutions in National Assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and Punjab Assembly against Afghani’s illegal appointment.
She said drug companies had given luxury jeeps to Afghani as a bribe.
Pakistan Drug Lawyers Forum President Dr Noor Muhammad Mahar said Afghani’s pharmaceutical company was behind the killing of 292 patients in the Punjab Institute of Cardiology Lahore. There are no rules for registration of medicines, licencing, pricing, laboratory practice and use of central research fund. He added that polio is the open example of corruption and incompetency of DRAP. Parliament has declared DRAP as most corrupt department of the Pakistan, he added.
Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association General Secretary Dr Haroon Yousaf said DRAP and Federal Health Ministry are not notifying under Section 8 of Drugs Act 1976 the National Formulary of Pakistan in Official Gazette of Pakistan with their evil intention; as once it is notified then the DRAP CEO cannot change the prices of medicines overnight. He said that Afghani has changed the brand name from Betnesol to Betnelan having generic name Betamethasone and illegally increased the price from Rs 25.42 per 20 tablets to Rs 398.21 per 20 tablets, which is 638% price increase.
“If it were notified in National Formulary, then Afghani would not change prices drastically and illegally only by doing brand change, because in National Formulary Registration Number, brand name with formulation and price would be notified.”
Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association Joint Secretary Dr Hina Shaukat said CM Shahbaz Sharif, Salman Rafique and Imran Nazir are performing better than the Federal Health Ministry.
Pakistan Pharmaceuticals Association Vice President Dr Zaheer Afzal said poor Pakistanis would die without medicine, as Afghani and Amanullah are increasing the prices of medicines wickedly by getting bribes from pharma companies. NAB cannot check the illegal increase of medicine prices as NAB Rawalpindi director general’s staff officer is a close relative of Amanullah.
The protesters urged NAB to recover entire looted money in illegal medicine price increase from Afghani and Amanullah. They also demanded that the government form a joint investigation team.
