Pakistan initiates 'emergency' steps to secure drug supplies after trade suspension with India
Islamabad, Apr 26 (PTI): Pakistani health authorities have initiated "emergency preparedness" measures to secure pharmaceutical supplies in response to the suspension of trade ties with India, according to a media report on Saturday.
In response to the India's decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty following the Pahalgam attack, Islamabad on Thursday suspended all trade with New Delhi among other moves.
Geo News reported that India trade halt triggered "urgent measures to secure" pharmaceutical needs in Pakistan and health authorities have initiated "emergency preparedness" measures to secure the supplies.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has confirmed that while there has been no formal notification regarding the ban's impact on the pharmaceutical sector, contingency plans are already in place, it said.
"Following the 2019 crisis, we had started preparing for such contingencies. We are now actively looking at alternative avenues to meet our pharmaceutical needs," the report quoted a senior DRAP official as saying.
Currently, Pakistan relies on India for 30% to 40% of its pharmaceutical raw materials, including Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and various advanced therapeutic products.
With this supply chain distributed, DRAP is seeking alternative sources from China, Russia, and several European countries.
The agency aims to ensure the continuous availability of essential medical supplies, including anti-rabies vaccines, anti-snake venom, cancer therapies, monoclonal antibodies, and other critical biological products.
While DRAP's preparedness offers some reassurance, industry insiders and health experts have warned of a looming challenge if immediate action is not taken to manage the fallout of the trade suspension.
"Pakistan imports some 30%–40% of its pharmaceutical raw material from India. We also import finished products, most importantly, anti-cancer therapies, biological products, vaccines, and sera, especially anti-rabies vaccine and anti-snake venom from India," a senior official from the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination said, requesting anonymity.
The Ministry of Health has yet to receive an official directive clarifying the status of pharmaceutical imports, despite the government's blanket announcement suspending all trade with India.
The pharmaceutical sector fears that disruption in the supply chain could lead to critical shortages.
The situation is further complicated by the existence of a robust black market, where unregistered and unapproved medicines are smuggled into Pakistan through Afghanistan, Iran, Dubai, and even across the eastern border, the report said.
While these channels fill gaps left by legal imports, they offer no guarantee of quality or consistent supply.
A delegation of pharmaceutical industry leaders travelled to Islamabad on Thursday to appeal for an exemption from the trade ban.
"We had meetings with DRAP and Ministry of Commerce officials to discuss the suspension of trade ties. We urged them to exempt the pharmaceutical sector from the ban, as there are many life-saving products whose raw materials come exclusively from India," said Tauqeer-ul-Haq, Chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA).
The PPMA delegation also approached the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), arguing that pharmaceutical and health-related trade must be excluded from the ban to protect patients' lives.
However, some experts see the current crisis as a wake-up call for long-term investment in local production of APIs, vaccines, and biologicals.
"This crisis could be a turning point for Pakistan," said Zafar Iqbal, a senior public health expert.
Terrorists opened fire in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Married person cannot enter into live-in relationship without obtaining divorce: Allahabad HC
Prayagraj (UP) (PTI): The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a married person cannot legally enter into a live-in relationship with a third party without first obtaining a decree of divorce.
With this observation, the court dismissed a writ petition seeking protection filed by a couple in a live-in relationship.
Justice Vivek Kumar Singh observed that the freedom of personal liberty is not absolute and cannot infringe upon the statutory rights of an existing spouse.
The petitioners had approached the court with a prayer that both petitioners are major and living together as husband and wife and they have apprehension of a life threat from the respondent.
On the other hand, the state counsel opposed the prayer made by the petitioners and submitted that the act of the petitioners is illegal as petitioner no. 1 is already married to one Dinesh Kumar and has not obtained a decree of divorce.
The court observed in its judgment on Tuesday, "No one has the right to interfere in the personal liberty of the two adults, not even the parents of two adults can interfere in their relationship, but the Right to Freedom or Right to Personal Liberty is not absolute or unfettered: it is qualified by some restrictions also. The freedom of one person extincts where the statutory right of another person starts."
A spouse has the statutory right to enjoy the company of his or her counterpart and he/she cannot be deprived of that right for the sake of personal liberty and no such protection can be granted to infringe statutory right of the other spouse, the court said, adding hence, the freedom of one person cannot encroach or overweigh the legal right of another person.
"If the petitioners are already married and have their spouse alive, he/she cannot be legally permitted to enter into a live-in relationship with a third person without seeking divorce from the earlier spouse," the court said.
With the above observation, the court said that it is not inclined to issue any writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus for protection to the petitioners who are in a live-in relationship without obtaining a decree of divorce from a competent court.
