THE Pakistan pharmaceutical industry has more than 700 manufacturing units, directly employing thousands and creating millions of indirect jobs in allied industries.

In the current environment, all industries of Pakistan are facing an extremely tough time.

Similarly, the pharmaceutical industry is also facing a tough time with loadshedding, political scandals and the general drying up of commercial credit/funding due to heavy government borrowing.

While the government remains absent in playing its role, I believe that the pharmaceutical industry can be saved with the help of its indirect partners, mainly the Chemist Association of Pakistan and the Pharma Distribution Association of Pakistan.

Chemists/druggists are provided with a credit line by the distributors of pharmaceutical products who, in turn, are provided with a credit line by the manufacturers.

If the chemists/druggists of Pakistan agree to pay their dues to distributors in time, and, similarly, if distributors agree to pay their dues to manufactures in time, then our pharmaceutical manufacturers would not require any commercial credit from banks and would be able to increase their productivity to the maximum.

On the other hand, if chemists/druggists and distributors decide not to help out, then by the end of the current term of the government, 50 per cent of manufacturers would lose their businesses and 50 per cent of chemists, druggists and distributors would lose theirs. It`s time to ponder.

Dr AKEKH KHAN Peshawar