Capital’s IGP warns of ‘other’ drug used by students

Senate panel wants health authority in a month, seeks details of medicine prices

ISLAMABAD: Even as the police works to crack down on drugs being used by students on campuses, the capital’s top cop on Wednesday warned of a different type of ‘drug’ which was infesting campuses across the city.

This was disclosed in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination which met at the Parliament House on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Senator Mian Ateeq Shaikh.

The meeting also took up the issue of a recent hike in medicine prices and the healthcare authority. During the meeting, a report on fake doctors and spurious drugs in the federal capital were reviewed.

Islamabad Police Inspector General (IG) Amir Zulfiqar Khan told the committee about dangerous ‘drugs’ which are being sold over the counter. The main consumers, he said, were school and college students.

He urged the committee to investigate the matter, stating that this was another form of drug which was plaguing campuses across Islamabad.

The committee’s chairman said that they will pass on instructions for the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) to review the matter at their end and stressed the need to bring this issue under the legal ambit.



Senator Professor Dr Mehr Taj Roghani directed the committee’s attention towards fake clinics and doctors and called for a strong crackdown on quacks. “Care must be taken not to harass doctors in the process,” she said.

At this, the committee was told the law does not allow the police to raid clinics or hospitals covered by the district health officer (DHO).

While discussing the issue of establishing the Islamabad Healthcare Authority, the Senate panel was told that under section 6, clause 1 of the Islamabad Healthcare Regulation Act, a selection committee has to be nominated by the federal government to determine areas of expertise and skills required to grant membership of the board and develop a detailed criterion for selection accordingly.

It was disclosed the profiles of hopefuls have been obtained and the matter was being forwarded to the cabinet division for approval.

The committee unanimously recommended that a letter be written to the cabinet asking it to form the selection committee as soon as possible.

The panel further directed the health ministry to activate the healthcare authority within a month.

Lawmakers further recommended that senators and national assembly members who are doctors must also be added to the health regulatory authority.

The 15 per cent hike in prices of medicines was also taken up in the meeting.

Countering a previous explanation given by Health Minister Aamer Kiani that prices had been raised in light of the rising costs of input after the change in the exchange rate, Shaikh said that no pharmaceutical company in the country was in loss owing to the massive change in the exchange rate, adding that prices were raised even in instances where raw material was not imported.

Senator Dr Ashok Kumar expressed extreme displeasure at the increase in prices of life-saving drugs, adding that the world over, these drugs are sold at cheap prices to make them more affordable.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Amir Senator Sirajul Haq contended that prices of medicines have been hiked three times in the past seven months to the detriment of the poor public. “The public had been promised subsidies and relief,” Haq noted.

At this, the health secretary said that they were under tremendous pressure from pharmaceutical companies to raise prices and explained that prices have only been increased thrice over the past 20 years in 2001, 2013 and now.

Kiani, who was attending the meeting, maintained his stance that prices were raised due to the disparity between the rupee and the greenback.Shaikh demanded that the Senate panel should be given the same briefing which was given to the federal cabinet on the matter.

The health ministry’s secretary said that the federal cabinet had delegated this task to the task force on health and prices were raised after securing approval from the task force.

The committee’s chairman directed the health ministry to provide the committee with the documents used to present its case to the cabinet.  Details of drug costing were also sought.

Kiani assured the committee that in addition to the requested documentation, the ministry will provide the committee with a list of reasons why the prices were increased.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2019.