Pharmacies in Pakistan's major cities of Karachi and Lahore have run out of medicines having hydroxychloroquine phosphate, also known as cholroquine, it has emerged after news began circulating on social media that the drug was effective in treating patients who test positive for the novel coronavirus, Pakistani media reported. 

Several pharmacy chains in Karachi including Bin Hashim Pharmacy, Kausar Medicos, Nice Pharmacy and Newway Pharmacy confirmed they had run out of chloroquine drugs after a rush of customers in the past two days asking for either Plaquenil or Resochin – both of which are medicines available over the counter, include the said ingredient and are normally used to treat malaria.

“We are out of stock since yesterday,” said a sales person at Bin Hashim Pharmacy in the Federal B area of Karachi, when asked about the availability of Resochin – a drug manufactured by renowned pharma giant Bayer AG.

According to the salesman, there had been a surge in customers coming in to buy Resochin, which was being sold at Rs25 per packet (10 tablets) at the pharmacy before stocks ended. He said they were not selling Plaquenil at Bin Hashim.

Meanwhile,  the government has exempted import of 61 diagnostic support and personal protective equipment (PPEs) from all duties and taxes for a period of three months in order to reduce the rising prices in the domestic market.

The government has also allowed the use of non-utilised amount of the World Bank-funded projects worth $40 million for purchase of COVID-19 equipment.

IAs per notifications, the government exempted import of PPEs – suits, masks, gloves, goggles and headcovers – from customs duty, regulatory duty, additional customs duty, sales tax and withholding tax. Customs duty on these items is meagre but it attracts the standard rate of 17pc sales tax on import. There is also income tax in the range of 4.5pc to 5pc on import of all these items.

The government will also impose a ban on export of medical equipment. The Ministry of Commerce has yet to notify the ban on export of masks. The draft notification is still with the law division. Meanwhile, it is believed that the export of masks is stopped by the customs authorities on a letter from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan.