Unprecedented hike in drug prices
Joint opposition storms out of House against unprecedented increase in rates of medicines, including life-saving drugs, minister for health services says govt can’t do anything as stays have been granted by high courts
ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani on Thursday said the Supreme Court could not be allowed to protect the drug cartels when minister for national health services told the House that action could not be taken against an unprecedented increase in the rates of medicines as high courts had granted stays.
During the specially-summoned one-day session, the joint opposition stormed out of the House, led by the MQM senators, against an unprecedented increase in the rates of medicines, including life-saving drugs.
The senators asked the Ministry of National Health Services and Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan to intervene in the issue that concerns 98 percent of the population.
Rabbani rejected a point by the PML-N’s Ayesha Raza Farooq that the issue had been discussed by the house committee concerned in which Minister for National Health Services Saira Tarar had said that they could not take action as stays had been granted by the high courts.
“We can’t allow the Supreme Court to give protection to cartels,” Rabbani asserted and referred the matter to a standing committee.
Billing it as a ‘dark foreboding’, PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar told the House that in a public snub, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman had refused to meet Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif for briefing on corruption cases.
Quoting the media reports, the PPP senator noted that a situation might be evolving in the backdrop of the prime minister’s caution to the NAB the other day and a warning to amend the law if it did not stop ‘pestering innocent people’ without evidence.
He said the NAB chief issued a press release, promising to bring an improvement in the accountability process and that the bureau fully respected the premier’s statement. “But after 24 hours, the NAB chief cancelled the briefing he was scheduled to give to the prime minister on Thursday. This 180 degree turn is a matter of concern. What is going to happen? What situation is evolving,” he asked. Rabbani referred The Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (Conversion) Bill, 2015 to the House standing committee concerned for deliberation and report within 12 days.
State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad tabled the bill for which the government summoned the session, as a regular session was to start from February 29. The opposition and the government allies are fiercely opposed to the airlines’ ‘privatisation’.
The PPP senators walked out of the House against the killing of one of its workers in Kotli a few days back and alleged this was part of the ruling PML-N to get favorable results in the next AJK polls.
Leader of the House Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq and PML-N Information Secretary Senator Mushahidullah said it was the responsibility of the AJK government and the local administration to maintain law and order, which it could not. PPP Senator Saeed Ghani had raised the matter after the Question-Hour. MQM’s Mian Muhammad Attique drew the House attention towards what he called 60 percent to 100 percent increase in drug rates by the national and multi-national pharmaceutical firms.
“Can anyone ask the government and is there any regulatory body to see to it that a huge increase has been made in the drug prices, which will massively affect 98 percent population of Pakistan,” he said.
The party’s parliamentary leader, Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, also rose to decry the development and regretted the treatment being meted out to schoolteachers and PIA.
The ruling PML-N’s Nihal Hashmi spoke about the deepening drinking water crisis in Karachi and wanted speeding up of work on K-F water supply project and that the water mafia should be taken to task.
MQM’s Muhammad Ali Saif sought a policy statement from the government on Pakistan’s participation in the war games in the Middle East and said the timing of these activities had created doubts and apprehensions among people. He also wanted to know whether or not Pakistan was formally a part of the Saudi-led alliance, as currently there was tension going on the region.
Leader of Opposition Aitzaz Ahsan reiterated his demand that in the next session, the minister for defence should clarify whether he was briefed about the army chief’s visit to Kabul by himself (army chief) or any other military officer.
Senator Farhatullah Babar again rose to recall that the minister for defence had sought two days to brief the House about the Kabul visit, as many questions were raised. But the minister has not attended the Senate after that, he added.
“In his absence, the questions about the Kabul visit have become more focused, which is not good,” he said.
On this, the chair told the House that both the defence minister and minister for interior would attend the next session to respond to their queries.
Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Senators Usman Kakar and Sardar Azam Musakhail agitated against alleged hurdles for Pakhtoon students in the Punjab and particularly mentioned the constituency of Minister Ch. Nisar Ali Khan where Pakhtun boy and girl students were being thrown out of academic institutions.
They alleged that the CNICs of Pakhtuns were being blocked and Nadra was making B-forms more complicated for Pakhtuns. They also referred to beating up of Pakhtun students at the Punjab University hostel by what they alleged militant outfit the Islamic Jamiat Tulaba. They wanted adherence to the university rules instead of any student body. The chair urged the Leader of the House to get a report on the matter and share it with the House in the next session.
Earlier, the House adopted the bill to further amend the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974 and also the Delimitation of Constituencies (Amendment) Bill in addition to passing the Pakistan Halal Authority Bill, 2015 and the bill to amend the Publication of Laws of Pakistan Bill, 2015.
Earlier, during the Question-Hour, the House was told that at present 1.55 million registered Afghan refugees were residing in Pakistan.
Minister for States and Frontier Region Abdul Qadir Baloch said that the prime minister had recently extended the legal stay of the registered Afghan refugees till June 30 this year. However, there was also a proposal for extension for these refugees till the end of next year. The minister said since 2002, 3.9 million Afghan refugees had been repatriated to their homeland.
Replying to a supplementary, he said Pakistan had commitment with the international community to repatriate the Afghan refugees with dignity and honour. He said the issue of repatriation had repeatedly been taken up with the Afghan government but it had expressed its inability to provide necessary facilities and incentives for the return of refugees to their homeland.
Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique informed the House there was a proposal for laying a new railway track from Havelian to Khunjerab. He said the project was a part of the China-Pak Economic Corridor and was likely to commence under long-term plan of the CPEC. Minister for Law Pervaiz Rashid told the House that a proposal to amend the land reforms act 1977 as per direction of the Shariat Appellant Bench of the Supreme Court had been referred to the Counsel of Common Interests, the meeting of which was expected soon.
