PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday sought comments from the provincial health secretary, director general (health services) and provincial drug regulatory authority (KPDRA) on a petition seeking its orders for the government to fix the coronavirus vaccine rates on a no profit, no loss basis.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar issued notices to the respondents, including the health secretary, DG (health services) and KPDRA director general, asking them to respond to the petition filed by advocate Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel, who also requested the court to declare lawyers and their relatives along with paralegals entitled to the immediate free vaccination against the virus.

The petitioner said the lawyers and paralegals were more vulnerable to the deadly virus on the court premises, especially in the high court courtrooms, where hundreds of litigants and lawyers had to sit with litigants on a daily basis.

He said the coronavirus vaccine was sold worldwide for $10, so the Pakistani government should fix its rate on a no profit, no loss basis instead of allowing importers to sell it at exorbitant rates.

Lawyer moved court for profit restriction on vaccine sale

The petitioner also prayed the court to direct the respondents, including the health department, to ensure the immediate vaccine availability to lawyers, paralegals and their families in district courts, high court’s basic health unit or the nearest hospitals, where people are vaccinated against the virus.

The respondents in the petition are the Federation of Pakistan through the federal health secretary, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through its chief secretary, provincial health and law secretaries, director general (health services), Pakistan Bar Council, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council through their respective secretaries, and Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan through its chief.

During hearing, the chief justice observed that every person should be vaccinated but being frontline workers in the fight against coronavirus, the doctors and paramedics had the right to be vaccinated before others.

He added that it was unfortunate that even during a pandemic, certain elements had been trying to make large profits through vaccination.

Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid said if the people didn’t think for the country collectively, the current emergency situation couldn’t be overcome.

The petitioner, who is known for litigation of public interest, said that the rate of Covid-19 vaccine, which had been imported by companies for private sale, had been fixed at a rate, which was rejected by international bodies like Transparency International, which had also asked the government to look into the matter but no action had been taken on it.

He claimed that the Covid-19 vaccine was sold privately in other countries for $10 but in Pakistan, importers wanted to sell it for Rs8,000-Rs8,500 drawing a profit of around Rs7,000.

The petitioner claimed that since the initial days of the outbreak Covid-19, thousands of lawyers were infected with the virus and struggled to save lives, while several of them died.

He added that in the last around one year, the province had lost noted people, including Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, to the virus.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2021