Chemists and druggists association holds meeting

Rawalpindi:Chemists should not be harassed under the cover of the event of Avastin injections, otherwise they will use all options of protest, says a press release.

Addition, deletion and dispensing compounding options should be opened immediately for changes in the centralised drug sales licensing portal, and the departmental error in the portal should be corrected immediately to allow long-standing dispensing pharmacies to operate in Punjab.

These views were expressed by PCDA (Pakistan Chemists & Druggists Association) (Punjab) Chairman Zahid Bakhtavari in an emergency meeting of PCDA (Punjab). Naveed Anwar, Drug Controller (Rawalpindi) Jawad Al Hasan, Secretary DQCB and Muneer Ahmed, Deputy Drug Controller while PCDA Muhammad Zakaria, Qureshi Sohail Mir Noor Waris Khattak, Syed Zaheer Musa, Dr. Abdul Qayyum Muhammad Abid Fazl Jameel and other officials and members participated in the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Zahid Bakhtawari said that targeting and harassment of chemists should be avoided in the guise of the Avastin injections issue in Lahore. Abuse of any kind from the chemist community will not be tolerated He gave a 48-hour notice and said that these matters should be resolved immediately, otherwise the chemist community of the entire Punjab will use all options of protest.

He said that due to the departmental error in the centralized drug sale licensing portal, the dispensing of pharmacies in Punjab and especially in Rawalpindi has been stopped, they should be allowed to work immediately. In order to ensure that the patients get the medicines as prescribed by the co-doctor and to open all the options of addition and deletion immediately in the Centralized Drug Cell Licensing Portal.