ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services (NHS) on Tuesday showed annoyance over the exorbitant prices of medicines.

Besides, it also suggested postponing the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) exam in the aftermath of floods.

The committee chairman, Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti, said increase in prices of medicines was a huge issue. While suggesting expediting the process of registering new drugs, Mr Chishti said Health Minister Mustafa Kamal had told that the decision over withdrawal of price deregulation would be taken after a survey.

It is worth mentioning here that the caretaker government, just a day before expiry of its tenure, decided to deregulate prices of drugs due to which pharmaceutical companies were able to increase prices on their own. The minister gave the same statement during the previous meeting of the committee held last month.

Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur also highlighted that medicine prices were continuously rising, making them unaffordable for the common people, particularly in the aftermath of the devastating floods.

Suggests rescheduling of MDCAT in wake of floods

She emphasised the urgent need for measures to ensure access to affordable medicines.

The ministry officials informed the committee that certain medicines were imported, which contributed to their high cost. The committee was further apprised of the alarming prevalence of counterfeit medicines being sold in the market at high prices.

Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti directed the ministry to submit a detailed report on medicine pricing in the next meeting.

Mustafa Kamal informed the committee members that an online portal had been launched to streamline regulatory procedures regarding import of medical devices. He stated that following its launch, applicants no longer needed to visit Drap office, and 180 cases had already been processed through the portal.

Senator Danesh Kumar raised concerns that nowadays every pregnancy was going through C-section which was not fair with women, adding that doctors were prescribing lots of medicines to patients to get commission and foreign trips.

Senator Irfanul Haque Siddiqui appreciated Senator Danesh Kumar, saying he had raised a very serious issue.

He suggested that details be sought from each doctor as to how many C-section they had done in their services.

The committee chairman recommended submitting data of the federal and provincial hospitals regarding the number of C-sections carried out.

On the request of senators, the committee chairman committee, Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti, approved setting up of a subcommittee to further probe into the matter.

Senator Fawzia Arshad expressed concern over the rising number of dengue cases in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and stressed the need for immediate preventive measures, including carrying out fumigation to control the spread of the disease.

Suggestion to delay MDCAT

The committee considered the concern raised by Senator Mirza Mohammad Afridi regarding MDCAT examination scheduled for October 6.

Senator Afridi emphasised that due to the devastating floods in several parts of the country, it would be extremely difficult for students from affected and underprivileged areas to appear in the test.

He urged that the examination be delayed till November to provide equal opportunity for all candidates, particularly those belonging to poor and flood-hit families.

The PMDC president informed the committee that a meeting with the test-conducting body was scheduled for today (Wednesday) to review the matter.

He said 138,000 candidates had registered themselves for MDCAT, adding that all aspects would be taken into account and the committee would be apprised of the final decision accordingly.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2025