PESHAWAR: The leaders of Young Pharmacists Community Pakistan (YPCP) have demanded of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to implement ‘pharmacy services policy’ within a month otherwise they will launch a protest movement and besiege the building of provincial assembly.

Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Monday, YPCP leader Dr Waqas Ahmad said that the absence of a pharmacy services policy in the province left thousands of qualified pharmacists unemployed.

He said that pharmacists played a central role in healthcare system and their appointments in public hospitals could help the government to save billions of rupees annually while ensuring provision of affordable and quality medicines to patients.

YPCP chairman Junaid Iqbal said on the occasion that services of pharmacists at clinical level were essential for healthcare reforms and could improve medicine management and patient care standards across the province.

The leaders of YPCP said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was facing a shortage of drug inspectors. They said that the existing workforce was insufficient to monitor pharmaceutical practices effectively in the province.

They alleged that despite repeated meetings with officials of health and finance departments besides health minister regarding pharmacy services policy, its implementation was delayed. They said that officials cited shortage of funds as the primary obstacle.

They said that government was allocating resources to other sectors and creating new positions elsewhere but it had neglected the pharmacy despite importance of the profession in delivering safe and effective healthcare services.

Dr Waqas urged the provincial government to end what he called discrimination against pharmacists and ensure implementation of the pharmacy services policy that was already approved by the provincial assembly.

He said that qualified pharmacists were capable of contributing significantly to patient welfare and healthcare delivery. He demanded immediate implementation of the policy, recruitment of qualified pharmacists in public hospitals and an increase in the number of drug inspectors.

Junaid Iqbal said that if their demands were not addressed within a month, they would launch protests and stage a sit-in outside the provincial assembly.

He also criticised the provincial health authorities for what he described as poor governance.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2026