Despite tall claims made recently by the new government, the city of Karachi is facing the acute shortage of the life saving drugs and some of the drug sellers have connected such shortage with upcoming annual budget.

Wahab Market, Nizami Market, Kachhi Gali and Zenat Market are supposed the major wholesale drug markets of the city that cater the life saving drugs to not Karachi city alone but also the most medical store owners from all around the province are buying medicines from these markets. The Kachhi Gali shopkeepers have said that with the shortage of the medicines, the price went up.

Medicine used in acute emergency conditions, cardiac diseases, asthma and other life saving drugs are either disappeared from the market or being sold on higher prices. The shopkeepers said that IV Fluids used to replace the blood loose during any accident, Solocart comprises cortisone that is used in accidental shocks, Bronchodilator used for the asthma are disappearing from the market.

The shopkeepers say that drug shortage prevails ahead of the annual budget, but I found that it is nothing else then the black-marketing by the wholesalers as it is common practice that federal government announces reduction in the drug prices in annual budget then why such shortage prevails before the budget.

When these shopkeepers were inquired that they are getting these medicines directly from the pharmaceutical companies and selling to the smaller medical stores then who is there behind the shortage, they blamed “some of the wholesaler” but nobody was there to explain. 

These drug sellers in these markets are selling medicines of the Pakistan based pharmaceutical companies and also multinational companies but shopkeepers also sale Indian and Iranian drugs and the prices of these medicines are much lesser as compare to the local companies. With the shortage of the local medicine, the shopkeepers have raised the prices of Indian and Iranian medicines, though these medicines have nothing to do with the upcoming annual national budget.