Islamabad:
A parliamentary body was informed Tuesday that the increase in prices of doctors became a serious problem in the country, while the pharmaceutical industry left the country due to corruption practices.
The Federal Minister of Health has declared to the Senatorial Health Committee that the decision to remove the restrictions on drugs would be made after an investigation report.
The Committee meeting, chaired by Senator Amir Waleedddin Chishti, examined the questions related to medication pricing and the pharmaceutical sector.
The president quoted the Federal Minister of Health saying that even if the government was concerned about the sharp increase in drug prices, “you must have heard that pharmaceutical companies have left the country”.
The Minister of Health also informed the Committee that, previously, in the event of legal proceedings, the FIR had only been deposited against the CEOs of pharmaceutical companies. “We have changed this procedure,” he said.
Senator Humayun Mohmand observed that the increase in drug prices had become a major problem in Pakistan.
Senator Dinesh Kumar has raised concerns about practices contrary to ethics in the medical sector, saying that “our women are subject to coercion, with forced operations carried out during childbirth … Doctors have become butchers”.
He alleged that the commissions had been carried out both on drugs and laboratory tests and required data on the number of pharmaceutical companies have sponsored foreign trips for doctors.
