KARACHI, March 25: Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Karachi Chapter on Sunday welcomed Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan’s decision to ban licenses for new medical stores.

The PMA demanded that the presence of a qualified pharmacist be made mandatory for medical stores, and licenses of all medical stores in Sindh having no qualified pharmacist should be cancelled henceforth.

PMA Karachi General Secretary Dr Qaiser Sajjad, in a statement, said that more than 95 per cent of medical stores in Sindh, especially Karachi, were being run by non-qualified persons, which was a great threat to the health and lives of people.

The PMA office-bearer said that no check on medical stores had resulted in a rising trend of self-medication, as all types of drugs were available in these medical stores, without even the production of a prescription from a registered medical practitioner.

He said that in many cases non-qualified staff of medical stores was involved in quackery, selling fake and expired medicine and even selling wrong medicines.

He said that open sale of sleeping pills was behind many incidents of suicide, especially amongst women.

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) demanded that a compressive survey on medical stores should be started in the whole province, including Karachi, and the licenses of those medical stores running without the services of qualified pharmacists should be cancelled.—PPI