Pakistan’s top court bars doctors from operating pharmacies without a drug licence
The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that doctors may prescribe for their patients but cannot run a pharmacy or drug shop without a licence under the Drugs Act.
In a nine-page judgment, the Federal Constitutional Court set aside a Peshawar High Court decision that had restrained action against doctors running medical stores. The bench, led by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan with Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, affirmed that while doctors can prescribe and dispense to their own patients under Section 31(4)(a) of the Pharmacy Act 1967, they must obtain a licence to operate a pharmacy under the Drugs Act 1976.
The case involved Dr Muhammad Rizwan Rajpoot and other physicians who were found stocking drugs without the required licences after a 2020 inspection. The court emphasized the distinct legal functions of the Pharmacy Act and the Drugs Act, rejecting the claim that constitutional rights exempt doctors from licensing. It also noted that drug inspectors have statutory powers to inspect, sample, and seize medicines, and that any disputes should proceed through the statutory mechanisms such as the Provincial Quality Control Board and the Drug Court.
Why it matters
The ruling clarifies that doctors cannot bypass drug-sale licences, reinforcing pharmaceutical regulation and public-health safeguards.
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