RAWALPINDI: It was a hard day for patients as all chemist shops remained closed on Monday in protest against the Punjab Drugs Amendment Bill 2017 recently passed by the provincial assembly.

On the other hand, the government failed to ensure the availability of essential medicines in hospitals forcing the citizens to rush to Islamabad to purchase drugs where medical stores remained open.

The druggists, chemists and manufacturers also took out rallies on Murree Road, The Mall and other busy arteries, triggering traffic jams.

The provincial assembly passed the bill on February 8 under which the manufacturer, importer or seller of a spurious, adulterated or unregistered drug shall be punished with three to 10 years’ imprisonment and fined Rs25 million to Rs50 million.

The dealers and manufacturers joined the strike on the call of Pakistan Chemists and Druggists Association.

Citizens had to buy essential medicines from Islamabad

“The doctor at a private clinic suggested a fluid infusion to treat my father for dehydration and handed me a prescription. As all medical stores in Rawalpindi were closed I had to rush to I-9 Islamabad to purchase the drugs,” said Mohammad Azhar, a resident of Khayaban-i-Sir Syed.

He said doctors and chemists should not go on any strike as it badly affected patients. “It is the responsibility of the local administration to ensure the provision of medicines in the market,” he said.

Malik Rehan, the attendant of a patient at the District Headquarters Hospital, said doctors prescribed an injection for his mother and he wasted three hours in search of a shop in Raja Bazaar and Saddar.

“Some people informed me to go to Islamabad where chemist shops were open and I managed to get the medicine from there,” he said.

Meanwhile, the druggists, chemists and pharmaceutical manufacturers also took out protest rallies on Murree Road and The Mall triggering massive traffic jams and creating problems for motorists and pedestrians. The druggists and manufacturers blocked Peshawar Road, Murree Road, The Mall and Jhelum Road at noon.

They blocked the Peshawar Road at Churr Chowk, Mall Road in front of Military Hospital, Jhelum Road near Swan bus terminal and Murree Road near Liaquat Bagh.

As a result, there were gridlocks on all these major arteries. The traffic on Peshawar and Murree roads remained clogged for more than two hours.

The protestors started their rally from Amin Plaza in front of Military Hospital on The Mall. Basit Abbasi, a brother of PML-N former MNA Hanif Abbasi, led another rally from Bohar Bazaar which merged at Liaquat Bagh.

When contacted, Pakistan Chemist and Druggist Association district president Malik Arshad Awan said they realised the suffering of the patients but were protesting against the government for introducing harsh penalties.

“We will remain on roads until the government repeals the amendments to the Act,” said Mr Awan.

He said the Punjab government wanted to hand over the healthcare system to a Turkish pharmaceutical company. “Initially, pharmacies in the three government hospitals in the city were given to the Turkish company and the government is planning to source out other healthcare centres to discourage the local manufacturers. The harsh punishments are aimed at stopping the local dealers from working,” he said.

Zahid Baktawari, another representative of the protesters, said the druggists would not allow the government to deprive them of their livelihood. He said the chief minister and the secretary health should stop victimising druggists.

TAXILA: Chemists, retailers and distributors from Taxila, Wah Cantt, Hassanabdal and Attock also observed a strike and took out a rally.

In Taxila, the rally was organised on the G.T. Road. The participants warned of an agitation if the amendments were not withdrawn.

Office-bearers of Pakistan Academy of Family Physicians’ local chapter also attended the rally. The protesters were chanting slogans against the Punjab government, saying the amendments would have a devastating impact on the local industry. They also threatened to shut down their businesses if the amendments were implemented.

Nisar Khan, an office-bearer of the local drug sellers association, called the proposed amendments illegal, saying the government wanted to harass people associated with the drugs business in order to please their ‘blue-eyed’ businessmen.

He said through the amendments, the government was trying to authorise drug inspectors to take action against anyone on the pretext of selling spurious medicines.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2017