rawalpindi - Scores of drug dealers, medical stores’ owners and distributors carried out protest rally on Monday against the proposed amendments in Drug Act 1976 bringing strict penalties and heavy fines for sale of fake or substandard medicines.
They also staged protest demonstrations in different part of the city sparking massive traffic jams on almost all the small and big roads posing hardships for commuters and pedestrians.
Meanwhile, associations of drug stores and distributors observed strike and shut down their businesses from 1pm to 4pm and carried out protest rallies against the proposed amendments under consideration of Punjab government.
The protestors while holding placards and banners chanted slogans against Chief Minister Punjab, Chief Secretary, and Health Secretary.
The drug store owners and workers took out a big protest rally from Saddar and marched towards Rawalpindi Press Club on the Benazir Bhutto Road. Another rally led by Malik Shahid Ghafoor Paracha and other trade union leaders was started from the Committee Chowk where drug store workers and distributors gathered from Raja Bazaar, Commercial Market, Benazir Bhutto Road and Saidpur Road. They also marched towards the RPC at Liaqat Bagh.
The protestors chanted slogans against the proposed amendments as they carried placards and banners in support of their demands. The protests on road triggered gigantic traffic jams on Murree Road, Committee Chowk, Saddar, Kashmir Road, Peshawar Road, Mareer Chowk, Katcheri, Rashid Minhas Road and Adiala Road. Later the protestors arranged a press conference at the RPC. The press conference was addressed by Khawaja Asif, Regional President of Pakistan Manufacturers Association, Chaudhry Munawar, representative of distributors, Zahid Bakhtawari, representative of medical stores, and Arshad Awan, representative of medical stores.
They said that if the provincial government passed the proposed amended laws then they would go on unending protest and strike. They said that they would close down their businesses if the amendments were put in place.
Explaining the concerns of the distributors and medical stores’ owners, Malik Arshad Awan, president of drug union, said that the proposed amendment would make sale of expired, misbranded, and substandard medicines a crime having harsh punishments.
He said that under the proposed law, the seller of expired, misbranded, and substandard medicines could face jail for six months without bail. The sellers and manufacturers could face from one to five years jail term and fine from Rs10 million to Rs50 million if convicted.
He said the punishment was harsh and the fine was high. “The drug dealers and medical stores owners have objections over the punishment for the sellers and distributors,” he said. He said we were all human beings and human error could not be rule out.
He said that they were not against the anti-spurious drug campaign but the government should not introduce harsh punishment for the crime not committed by the distributors or sellers. On the other hand, the citizens, who stuck in traffic rush, also lashed out at the Punjab government for creating troubles for citizens. The said the government should avoid locking horns with drug dealers and medical stores’ owners and should review its policies.