EFFORTS TO UNDERMINE THE ROLE OF PHARMACISTS ARE FRAUGHT
WITH THE SERIOUS RISK TO PUBLIC HEATH AND ALSO AGAINST THE
POLICES OF PRIME MINISTER MIAN MUHAMMAD SHAHBAZ SHARIF AND
CHIEF MINISTER PUNJAB MARYAM NAWAZ SHARIF
The following points are being highlighted to clarify the misconceptions created by
the letter dated 21 April 2026 from Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC)
on “Scope of Practices of Allied Health Professionals.” It is a matter of grave
concern that the PM&DC which is a responsible body of highly qualified Doctors,
Judges and other related experts has attempted to conflate qualified Pharmacists with
“Allied Health Professionals.” Pharmacists have been labelled as quacks involved
in medicine drug prescribing…etc. It appears that the letter referred to above have
leave drafted without any research and proper investigation and just hair say. The
data in provincial quality control also do not support the allegation Pharmacists
environment.
I. Pharmacists are autonomous healthcare professionals whose education is
regulated exclusively under the Pharmacy Act, 1967.
II. Globally, healthcare is built upon a recognized triology: the Physician, the
Pharmacist, and the Nurse.
III. While the Punjab Government, under the dynamic leadership of Chief
Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, is making strides to improve healthcare
delivery, such regressive labeling by the PM&DC threatens to undermine
these systemic advancements

IV. Pharmacists and Pharmacy professionals have a distinct professional
structure and robust academic standards upheld across Pakistan. Currently,
accredited universities in Islamabad, Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
Baluchistan, and AJK provide a rigorous curriculum including:
a) Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm-D): A five-year degree course focused on
advanced therapeutics.
b) Post-Graduate Research: Extensive Master’s and Ph.D. programs.
These programs are strictly accredited by the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan
(PCP) Under Pharmacy Act 1967. A Pharmacist is not an “allied” assistant
but a specialist in medicine, pharmacology, and therapeutic management.
V. Public Health Implications and Safety: While the Federal and Provincial
Governments are trying to ensuring the supply of safe, efficacious, and
quality drugs to patients, these governments would continue to face difficulties
until the potentials of pharmacists are fully exploited and Pharmacy Services
are properly established on professional and scientific lines in hospitals and
community pharmacies/drug stores. The above-referred attitude of important
bodies like the PM&DC would continue to hinders the development of a
good healthcare setup until the such elements stops and retracts as such
irresponsible statement allegation statements.
VI. Without the active integration of Pharmacists in clinical and community
settings, patients remain at risk of medication errors, adverse drug reactions,
and therapeutic failure which needs to be fully appreciated at all levels
specially the planning and decision making levels

VII. Labeling highly educated Pharmacists as “quacks” is not only unethical but
also professionally defamatory. Bodies like PM&DC are expected to guide
decision makers keeping in view the established pharmacy practices in
developing countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippine
Thailand and middle eastern countries and international declarations on drugs
and role of pharmacists rather than confusing the higher authorities and
healthcare professionals through communication gaps between regulatory
bodies. To maintain the integrity of the profession, I earnestly we advocate
for Continuing Professional Development (CPD): Mandatory, high-level
clinical seminars and training programs to ensure practitioners remain at the
cutting edge of global health standards.
VIII. Immediate Call to Action: The PM&DC, the Punjab Healthcare Commission
(PHCC), and the Federal and Provincial Health Ministries are requested to
act promptly to rectify the misinformation and distortion stemming from the
PM&DC letter of April 2026.
IX. All legally constituted bodies like PM&DC Pharmacy Council of Pakistan
and Punjab Health Care Commission must ensure that healthcare
practitioners operate within their respective legal ambits without infringing
upon the dignity of other professions.
I would like to appeal to the senior-most officers responsible for policies,
management, and administration of drugs and medicines to prioritize benefiting
from the presence of bureaucracy at both the federal and provincial levels. This
bureaucracy is keen to improve health care and should put its full efforts into establishing at least one model pharmacy service in the Islamabad Capital Territory
and the Provinces, on the analogy of The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
This proposal has been highlighted at various forums and included in both shortterm and long-term plans to organize the drug delivery system on professional and
scientific lines. It was formally communicated to the federal and provinces
authorities by Secretary Health Mr. Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, vide Letter dated
October 29, 2003. The do letter was addressed to heads of main hospitals in ICT
and provincial Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
Baluchistan, Northern Areas and Gilgit Baltistan.
It is important to note that this proposal is fully aligned with the Budapest
Declaration of the International Pharmaceutical Federation and the Basel
Statement on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy.
I also request Rao Alamgir, President of the Pakistan Pharmacists Association
(PPA), to represent this cause at every forum in a decent, respectable, and logical
manner. I am confident that the bureaucracy in the Ministry of National Health
Services will be of great help in remedying this situation.
We must secure the recognition and respect that the pharmacy profession deserves,
and ensure the safety of the Pakistani public, which demands urgent attention.
Rauf Khalid Former Drugs Controller April 30, 2026