DRAP faces opposition over alternative medicine rules

​LAHORE: A wave of intense outrage and concern has swept through Pakistan’s multi-billion-dollar alternative medicine industry following attempts by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to forcefully impose new regulations on the sector. Industry stakeholders have strongly condemned DRAP’s tactics of convening “orientation sessions” at various Chambers of Commerce to pave the way for these rules.

In response, the Pakistan Association of Alternative Medicine (PAAM) has officially announced a total rejection of all unilateral measures and proposed regulations by DRAP.

​Chairman of PAAM, Khasif Aslam Malik, asserted that DRAP is orchestrating these orientation sessions across chamber platforms merely as a facade to intimidate and mislead manufacturers and stakeholders into silent compliance. He warned all industry players against falling prey to these maneuvers, stating that incompetent and irrelevant officials—who lack even a basic understanding of the alternative medicine sector—are paving the way for the economic demise of this vital industry.

Chairman PAAM, Kashif Aslam Malik, unequivocally demanded that DRAP immediately cease imposing its decisions through superficial meetings and halt these one-sided regulations. He emphasized that no regulatory framework can be validly enforced until the herbal, homeopathic, unani, and nutraceutical sectors are removed from DRAP’s jurisdiction and placed under an independent Ministry of Alternative Medicine.

PAAM records its strongest protest against these unilateral orientation sessions and warns that if DRAP persists in its unyielding approach, the association will unite all industry stakeholders to launch a nationwide protest movement and seek recourse in the High Court.