Lahore: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday urged Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take notice of the apathy of pharmaceutical sector and resolve its problems on an immediate basis.
The provincial government had passed the Punjab Drug Act 2017, which had led to protests by the pharmaceutical segment in February and resulted in a suicide attack in which two senior policers and a dozen others had attained martyrdom. After this tragedy, the provincial govt had indefinitely postponed the enforcement of the changes made in the Drug Act.
Pharmaceutical sector found support from LCCCI President Abdul Basit, Senior Vice President Amjad Ali Bawa and Vice President Muhammad Naseer Khan.
They requested the government to resolve this deadlock on a priority basis in internet of the country’s economy. LCCI officials lamented that over 20 rounds of talks had been held between the pharmaceutical sector and the Punjab govt, to resolve this standoff and to also discuss the genuine concerns of the former.
They added that the drug regulator should take pharmaceutical sector stakeholders into confidence before reaching to any decision of making changes to the Drug Act.
LCCI officials suggested that if this action continues of ignoring the relevant stakeholders, the whole industry could come into jeopardy and the World Health Organization (WHO) may designate the country as an un-favorable nation which would hurt the economy badly.
Calling for the withdrawal of these amendments to the Drug Act, LCCI officials mentioned that the enforcement of it would be disastrous for the pharmaceutical industry and cause massive financial losses to them.
