KARACHI, March 23: The coordination committee of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement has urged the government to share the burden of increase in the prices of medicines, including life-saving drugs.

Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Saturday, the leaders of the coordination committee condemned the government for its decision to impose the GST on medicines.

They asked the government to reduce the defence budget in order to save the national exchequer, which could be spent on health, education, water and other basic needs of people of the country. They also demanded of President Pervez Musharraf to withdraw the GST from medicines and order for provision of subsidy on life-saving drugs as well.

The deputy convener of the coordination committee, Aftab Shaikh, along with Nasreen Jalil, Dr Farooq Sattar and Khalid bin Waleed, spoke at length on the recent imposition of GST. He observed that it would further increase the sufferings of the people.

He also disputed the government’s claim that money collected through the GST would be reinvested in health services.

Mr Shaikh said the decision to reduce the duty on the import of raw materials for manufacturing of pharmaceutical products was going to benefit the multinational companies only, while the imposition of GST would cast its effect on the entire system of production of medicines and supply. There would be an increase of 27-30 per cent in the price of medicines at medical stores, he elaborated.

Another “cruel decision” of the government to impose GST even on life-saving drugs would surely aggravate the sufferings of people who were fighting for their lives, as increase in price would result in non-availability of such drugs to poor and needy people, he pointed out. He expressed the view that some of the pharmaceutical companies had already stopped the sale and supply of medicines, including those meant for cancer, depression, hypertension, diabetics and cardiac patients, in order to earn profit on the available stocks of medicines as well.

He announced that his party would hold a seminar on the imposition of GST on drugs on March 26 at which representatives from medicine manufacturers, multinationals, wholesalers and other related quarters would speak.