PESHAWAR, April 4: Chemists and druggists on Thursday held a protest demonstration against the imposition of general sale tax on medicines, asking the government to withdraw the newly imposed levy and provide relief to the common consumers.

They also observed token strike till midday and pledged to continue their peaceful struggle till the withdrawal of the GST on drugs.

A  general body meeting of the Chemists  and  Druggist Associations, Peshawar district held at old city Namak Mandi where its leaders slammed the government for the imposition of 15 per cent GST on medicines. They said the prices of the medicines were already exorbitantly high that the common people were unable to buy them. The new tax, they said would further add to the sufferings and miseries of common masses.

All the medical stores remained closed till midday. Many patients ran from pillar to post to find the drugs prescribed to them by doctors at the city’s hospitals. However, the chemists gave emergency cover for the sake of patients near three teaching hospitals.

“The prices of drugs manufactured by the same multinationals were cheaper in other countries than Pakistan. There is no logic for the government to allow the MNCs to fleece the patients at their own will,” said Abdul Hadi Khan, chairman of the Chemist and Druggists Association, Peshawar. He also announced boycotting of the products manufactured by two MNCs for their pricing. These two firms, he added had started supplying drugs with pasted stickers which included 15 per cent GST.

On the occasion, they also announced that they would observe hunger strike camps throughout the province on Saturday to press the government for withdrawing the GST. They wore black arm-bands and also hoisted black flags atop of their shops.

The government imposed 15 per cent GST on all drugs on March 20, but later exempted the life saving drugs. The chemists demanded that all drugs should be exempted from the tax.

“The government has identified some 315 life saving drugs but there are 30,000 registered drugs in Pakistan,” said a doctor at intensive care unit of Lady Reading Hospital. According to him, all the drugs were equally important for the patients saying that non-availability of oral rehydration salt (ORS) though not come in purview of the LSD  could still prove fatal for children suffering  from diarrhoea. Similarly, he said a tablet of paracetamol also not an LSD, was direly needed by the patients suffering from fever or pain to get relief.

Some 65,000 registered chemists in the country including 15,000 in Frontier province are protesting against the decision.

“We wouldn’t suffer because we would shift the new tax to the consumers and only the poor people would suffer,” said a leader of the association. He said the government was in league with the MNCs which sold their products on 400-500 per cent more prices than they are selling them in other countries. The MNCs should be compelled to absorb the new tax themselves because the government had already given them relief in taxes on import of raw materials and tariffs of gas, electricity and telephone charges, he argued.

Leaders of the chemists said they had held a meeting with District Nazim who had promised them his fullest support.

They also provided a list of medicines manufactured by local and multinational pharmaceuticals containing similar ingredients but carried different prices.

They claimed that the MNCs were selling their products on alarmingly high prices. They also slammed the statement of finance minister that the new levy would not affect the poor people, saying the new tax if imposed would definitely hit the patients.