Pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan have said country’s local drug manufacturing would be severely impacted if the imports of medicines and raw materials from India were stopped.

The response from the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) came after several opposition leaders in the neighbouring country opposed the government’s permission given to imports of life-saving drugs from India.

Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, last week in parliament, slammed the move by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s government.

As per a report presented by Pakistan’s Health Minister to the government, 429 active pharmaceutical ingredients, 12 different kinds of vaccines and 59 medicines had been bought by manufacturers and importers from India under a special permission.

However, the report also said that vitamin tablets and various medicines which are being manufactured in Pakistan were also imported. This led PM Khan to order a probe in the supposed misuse of the permission.

Imran Khan government, last year in August, had suspended import of drugs and raw materials from India after the abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The government, however, had to permit the import of life-saving drugs and several raw materials in September following pressure from manufacturers in his country.