“Silence Of Kashmiri Muslim Pharmaceutical Traders Criminal”
SRINAGAR: Terming the supply of spurious pharmaceuticals as a “deadly plot against Kashmiris” the chairman of the Hurriyat (M), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Friday said that the drug mafia in the state enjoyed government patronage, and lambasted local Muslim chemists and dealers for their “criminal silence” over the issue.
Addressing a Friday congregation at the Jamia Masjid here, the Mirwaiz claimed that 700 hundred lives had been lost because of spurious drugs last year, and demanded an impartial probe by an inquiry commission.
“Kashmir is being systematically turned into a mandi for spurious drugs,” he said.
The Mirwaiz also came down hard on pharmaceutical dealers for what he described as their “criminal silence” over the widespread sale and distribution of substandard medicines.
“Even as we are within our rights to hold the government responsible over this despicable trade in spurious drugs, we must also look within ourselves,” he said.
“Ninety percent of those engaged in the Valley’s pharmaceutical trade are Kashmiri Muslims. It is they who run chemists shops and distribution agencies. Their silence over the supply of spurious and sub-standard drugs is criminal, and deplorable,” he said.