Peshawar [Pakistan], April 22 (ANI): A sharp rise in petroleum prices is reverberating through Pakistan’s economy, pushing up the cost of essential goods and making critical medicines unaffordable for many, The Express Tribune reports.
Patients with chronic illnesses are among the hardest hit. Insulin prices have nearly doubled, climbing from PKR 2,200 to PKR 4,720, putting treatment out of reach for large segments of the population. Other medicines have also risen: acidity treatments from PKR 530 to PKR 620, vitamins from PKR 480 to PKR 510, and typhoid drugs from PKR 805 to PKR 930. Cancer and pregnancy-related medications have reportedly increased by about PKR 400.
Zafar Ali, a Peshawar resident with diabetes who earns PKR 40,000 a month, said the surge has made insulin unaffordable. Some pharmacies are accused of deliberately creating shortages to capitalize on rising prices. Arshad Mohmand of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Medical Drug Association told The Express Tribune that prices for life-saving drugs have jumped by PKR 1,000 to PKR 4,000.
Mohmand also noted weak regulatory compliance: many pharmacies do not display official price lists and some operate without valid licences. He urged authorities to strengthen the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, increase inspections, and impose penalties on violators.
Pakistan’s Chief Drug Controller Abbas Khan clarified that drug pricing is set at the federal level under existing laws, while provinces are responsible for enforcement, The Express Tribune reported. (ANI)
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