SAHIWAL, Sept 8: Owners of medical stores observed a shutter down strike in major cities of the province on Saturday to protest the imposition of Drugs Act, 2007. The Punjab Chemists and Druggists Association (PCDA) had given the strike call.Medical and drug stores outside the Sahiwal DHQ Hospital remained closed causing inconvenience to patients and their families. Abid Chaudhry, a local office bearer of the association, said they observed a partial strike till 2pm to protest the promulgation of the Drugs Act. He said in case their demands were not met, they would observe a complete strike for an indefinite period.

Pharmacies remained closed in Toba Tek Singh also. A meeting of the local chapter of the PCDA was held which passed a resolution demanding immediate withdrawal of the act.

Similarly, a strike was also observed in Mandi Bahauddin, Phalia, Malikwal and Qadirabad. Bilal Mujtaba, a local PCDA office bearer, urged withdrawal of Drugs Act 2007, which, according to him, was aimed at favouring multinational companies.

The strike was also witnessed in Kasur, Pattoki, Chunian and Kot Radha Kishan and a large number of patients and their relatives faced huge difficulties due to the closure of medical stores.

At a press conference at Kasur Falahi Committee’s office at Circle Road, district president of the association Hafiz Muhammad Aslam and others criticised the imposition of new law. They dubbed the Drugs Act 2007 a ‘black law’.