By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: The shutter down strike and sit-in of medical stores owners entered the second day here on Tuesday in Chitral town and other parts of the district which created difficulty for the patients in DHQ hospital.
The medical store owners have gone on strike against the amendment in Drug Act 1976 which made it obligatory on the owners of medical stores to acquire the qualification of category-B certificate of pharmacy.
The leaders of different political parties and civil society organizations including district nazim Maghfirat Shah visited the sit-in camp of the chemists in front of Chitral Press Club and expressed solidarity with them and asked the government to accept the right demand of the chemists.
The president of Chitral chapter of Pakistan Chemists and druggists association, Imran Hussain said that they were not against the amendment in its entirety but they opposed only one of the sections which made it obligatory for the owners of medical stores to produce category B license for the renewal of their drug license.
Meanwhile, the former MNA from Chitral, Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali has asked the government to repeal the controversial section in the amendment which was not acceptable to the chemists.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday in Chitral Press Club, he said that the closure of medical stores has put the people of Chitral in high risk and the government will be held responsible if a patient dies due to unavailability of life saving drugs as the medical stores stood closed and case of murder can be registered against the chief minister if such incident happens.
