ISLAMABAD: Setting yet another bad precedent, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) government has allowed unbridled drug mafia to increase the prices of lifesavig drugs by 15 percent to 150 percent.
This major upward revision has pushed up the prices of over 300 medicines in one go.
A formal notification to increase the prices of drugs yet another time in PTI rule was issued by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) of the federal ministry of Health, Islamabad on August 5, 2021.
DRAP of the federal ministry of Health issued the notification without any prior indication for public knowledge.
The last increase is 12th upward revision in the prices of drugs in 3-year rule of Imran Khan. The repeated increase has literally pushed the medicines out of reach not only for lower middle class, but also for middle and upper middle class also.
A vast majority of the people is not in a financial position to buy medicines for its ailing family members.
The patiants and their families are in a shock over two dozens upward revisions in the prices of lifesaving drugs in the last thee years rule of PTI. They have failed to understand as to who was preferring drug mafia’s money-making game over lives of the patiants and why prime minister , Imran Khan, is not asking from DRAP and the federal ministry of health for this dirty practice .
Noor Mahar, president of pharmacists lawyers forum, held to both DRAP and ministry of Health responsible for what he termed as plundering and looting of patiants and their families in the name of upward revision in the lifesaving drugs’ prices.
He said ” DRAP and ministry of Health in Islamabad both are working for drug mafia and getting share from the looted money”.
Noor Mahar is perhaps the only professional whom drug mafia could not win or make frightened to make him shut.
The drug mafia which has full backing from power corridors of Islamabad and Lahore managed to file dozens of fake cases against Noor Mahar, but despite mounting pressure and threats to life, he did not bow down. Rather, he kept challenging powerful drug mafia for its dirty business.
Talking to NEWSMAN from Lahore by phone on Friday, Noor Mahar said ” I condemn the PTI government for protecting and patronaging powerful drug mafia at the cost of patiants lives and their families peace of mind”.
NEWSMAN also made repeated calls to Mr Asim Rauf, DRAP’s look after CEO, to get from him reasoning for this 12 th increase in the medicines prices in PTI rule and 2nd in last one and half months, but he neither responded to repeated calls not to whatsapp message.
He seemed following directions of his top bosses who do not feel necessary to respond to the media.