Pharmacies in capital operating without licences

Most drug stores in Islamabad and Rawalpindi are operating without qualified pharmacists or assistant pharmacists, violating the Islamabad Capital Drug Rule 1989, and putting citizen life in danger. “People without basic knowledge of pharmacy are running most of the drug stores in Islamabad and its suburbs. This is sheer violation of Islamabad Capital Territory Drug Rules of 1989, which clearly state that ‘only a person with a Bachelors’ degree in pharmacy is eligible to run a medical store’,” said a government official on Sunday. He said that due to the negligence of concerned authorities, drug stores were in the hands of people who did not have a basic knowledge of pharmacy.
He said that sometimes people with the Bachelors in Pharmacy degree obtained licenses from the ministry and then sold it to someone else, and that was how the wealthy illiterate established drug stores.
“The proprietors of the drug stores in Pakistan appoint employees who do not have a degree in pharmacy to make more money as they have to pay a better salary package to qualified pharmacists,” he said. The official said that according to the rules, it was Islamabad’s sole drug inspector’s responsibility to monitor them every six months. “It is a difficult task for the only drug inspector to monitor almost 340 drug stores in Islamabad,” he said.
30-year-old Arshad Hussain’s wife Farzana had a miscarriage and was prescribed tablets named ‘Cytotec’ worth 70 rupees per tablet by her gynaecologist. When Arshad went to a medical store, a salesman gave him some other tablets worth 30 rupees for 15 tablets and claimed it had the same formula.
However, Arshad went to second medical store to recheck the prescription and the other salesman told him that he had been given the wrong tablets as the ones he had were meant for the muscular pain while the doctor had prescribed tablets to stop internal infection.
“If I had opted for the first tablets I was given and had not rechecked, what would have happened to my wife and who would be responsible for it?” said Arshad.
A six-member board of directors decides about the issuance of licenses for the establishment of drug stores. According to the rules, the license must be issued to someone with a Bachelors’ degree in Pharmacy or an assistant pharmacist.
While talking to the Pakistan Today, Shiekh Ansar, Drug Inspector, said running a drug store without a license was illegal. “We are doing our best to counter such practices,” he said. He said, “Although the problem is prevalent, we have taken many concrete steps to control it and have managed to somewhat curb the illegal practices to a great extent.”