Press Release Title: Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination presiding over a meeting of the committee at Parliament House Islamabad.

Press Release Date: 7th May, 2026

*SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ADVANCES MAJOR HEALTH REFORMS AND PHARMACEUTICAL DEREGULATION STRATEGIES* The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination convened by Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti at Parliament House today to deliberate on critical legislative amendments and sector-wide performance reviews aimed at modernizing Pakistan's healthcare infrastructure and regulatory frameworks.  During the session, the Committee addressed Agenda regarding the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on MDCAT, where the Chairperson directed that the agenda be referred to a sub-committee tasked with finalizing its report within two months. On behalf of the PMDC, the Minister informed the committee that MDCAT this year is scheduled for August 16 as the final date for student examinations will end by July 20 to ensure that students from every segment and institute across Pakistan can participate.  Significant progress was also reported in the pharmaceutical sector, with the Ministry confirming that a report on 50% deregulated medicines has been completed. Pakistan currently exports medicines to 51 countries, and upon achieving WHO Level 3 status—moving up from its current Level 2—this reach is expected to expand to 100 countries. Market composition data revealed that 85% of medicines are manufactured locally by 659 companies, while 15% are imported by 394 importers. A survey of 771 brands representing the top 500 non-essential brands showed that 2.27% remained at pre-deregulation prices, 42.67% are sold below pre-deregulation rates, and 55.06% are sold above those rates, with 31 specific medicines seeing increases of up to 100%. The Chairman emphasized that while private investment is appreciated, it must not come out of poor and general public money, and the matter has been forwarded to the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for review.  Under Agenda on the issue of the disclaimer “Mothers Milk is the Best” on all formula milk advertisements by Drug Regulatory the Committee expressed serious dissatisfaction with the response from National Health Services . The Chairman criticized formula milk companies for exerting undue influence and strongly condemned the department’s delaying tactics. Consequently, the Committee mandated that a disclaimer stating " Mothers Milk is the Best " must be added to all advertisements and directed that DRAP bring formula milk for infants aged 1–36 months under its regulatory domain, with a formal letter to be issued to PEMRA regarding advertising regulations. The committee opposed any move to shift the regulation of breast milk substitutes from federal authorities to provincial food departments, arguing that provincial food authorities were already struggling to ensure safe and unadulterated milk for adults and could not be entrusted with regulating infant nutrition products also DRAP should write to PEMRA and formula milk marketing companies to ensure that every advertisement carries a clear message that breast milk is the best nutrition for a child and no substitutes are near in nutritional value. Regarding the Agenda of private member bill on Electric Nicotine Delivery systems, the Committee noted with concern that despite all formalities being completed and recommendations endorsed, no proper compliance has been seen for a year. Members of the committee  reinforces the government's commitment to prioritizing public health safeguards while fostering an environment of transparency, international compliance, and economic sustainability within the national health and pharmaceutical sectors. Remaining agenda items were forwarded for the next scheduled meeting.   Meeting was attended by Senators Syed Masroor, Sarmad Ali, Rahat Jamali, Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Agha Shahzaib Durrani, Nasir Mehmood Butt and Anusha Rahman (on zoom call) also Minister for National Health Services,  along with Secretary and other senior officials.