BADIN, Sept 6: Even after the withdrawal of the General Sales Tax (GST), imposed on the drugs, most of the pharmaceutical companies and medical stores, instead of providing drugs at reduced rates, either stopped supplying the medicines or were continuing with the previous prices.

As many as 80 medicines, including the life-saving ones, had been in short supply, after the exemption from the sales tax, allowing the medical stores to sell the drugs on high rates to the patients.

The medical stores and drug shops in the district continued to sell the medicines on increased rates without any restraint.

This scribe visited some 20 drug shops in the district and observed that an artificial shortage of the medicines, created mostly by the multi-national companies, had hit the area which added to the miseries of the patients who were compelled to buy drugs on high prices.

The provincial minister for health, after being informed about the problem, during his recent visit to Badin, had directed the authorities to redress the grievances of the patients.

Meanwhile, the medical store owners claimed that they were left with no other option to either sell their stocks on high prices or to bear loss by selling it on a GST-excluded price, when they had already paid 15 per cent GST on the purchase of the stock.

They alleged that the pharmaceutical companies, distributors, wholesale dealers, and chemists, were equally responsible for the shortage of the drugs, because they had delayed in taking back the old stocks.

A representative of an NGO said that the health ministry had failed to fulfil its responsibility under the Drugs Act 1976 (licensing, registration and advertising) Rules, section 4, which required of the ministry to ensure “regular and adequate” supply of every registered drug in the market.

The people of the district appealed to President Gen Pervez Musharraf, the minister for health and other high-ups to redress the problem faced by the patients.

PPP protest: A large number of activists of the Pakistan People’s Party women’s wing staged a protest rally here on Thursday against the rejection of nomination forms of Benazir Bhutto.

Led by Dr Khalida Mandhro, PPP women’s wing president, Badin district, the rally started from the Mandhro House and marched on main roads.

The protesters, including councillors, raised slogans against the rulers and condemned the government for keeping Benazir Bhutto away from the election.