KARACHI: A few drugs under generic names have started appearing in the market with new packing … but bearing the old prices. The promulgation of the Drug (Generic Names) Act, 1972, was aimed at drastically curtailing the prices of the medicines … but the appearance of these drugs with old prices seems to have nullified the entire exercise. …

The Government has set up a separate Cell in the Trading Corporation of Pakistan with the avowed aim of importing raw materials from various sources at reasonable prices. The measure was taken to reduce the production cost of the drugs to a considerable extent. But that, too, appears to have produced no … results. Most of the reputable Pharmaceutical industries have yet to undertake production of drugs … under Generic names due to various valid reasons. One leading pharmaceutical company has been closed down while many others have laid off the workers... . — Correspondent

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Rawalpindi,] a Cabinet meeting … today [Feb 8] decided to abolish the Frontier Crimes Regulation from Chilas and Darel also in the northern areas of Gilgit and Baltistan. The FCR has now been abolished completely from the northern areas.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2023