Mustafa Kamal says Pakistan needs new provinces as population rises, while announcing reforms aimed at improving the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.
ISLAMABAD: Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has claimed that around 1,300 children die every day in Pakistan due to malnutrition, highlighting what he described as a serious public health challenge facing the country.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the Pak Pharma Healthcare Expo, Kamal said Pakistan’s healthcare companies were continuing to grow and that pharmaceutical exports increased by 38 percent last year.
He said the government was supporting the pharmaceutical industry and providing relief to companies, stressing that sustainable growth was difficult without government support.
The federal minister said the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had become 85 percent digital and that further digitisation of DRAP and other institutions would help eliminate corruption.
He said a new system would be introduced in Pakistan on October 9, with stronger checks and balances on medicines. Kamal also pointed out that only 22 drug inspectors were currently serving a population of around 250 million.
Mustafa Kamal Calls for New Provinces
The federal minister also reiterated his call for the creation of new provinces, describing it as an important requirement for Pakistan.
He noted that at the time of independence, Pakistan had a population of around 35 million and four provinces, whereas the country’s population had now grown to more than 260 million while the number of provinces remained unchanged.
Kamal argued that creating new provinces would not weaken or divide Pakistan but would instead strengthen the country by improving administration and governance.
Comments on Defence Cooperation
Speaking about Pakistan’s defence cooperation with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, Kamal described the agreement as a positive development and credited Field Marshal Asim Munir, the prime minister and the deputy prime minister for it.
He also criticised what he described as attempts by disruptive elements to discredit the military, claiming that Pakistan had defeated a force six times larger under Field Marshal Asim Munir’s leadership.
The minister’s remarks covered a range of issues, including child malnutrition, pharmaceutical reforms, healthcare regulation, administrative restructuring and national security.
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