In January, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan abruptly cancelled its recruitment advertisements 01/2024, 02/2024 and 01/2025 without offering any justification. These recruitments were for deputy directors, assistant directors and drug inspectors, positions that are central to regulating medicines and medical devices in Pakistan.
This decision is neither routine nor acceptable. It demands a clear explanation and an inquiry at the highest possible level.
The recruitment process at DRAP had begun in 2023 and had progressed substantially. Candidates had already cleared written examinations, completed document verification, and were shortlisted. Interviews were the only stage remaining. Even those interviews were scheduled, only to be deferred at the last moment in July. Finally, on January 16, the entire process was scrapped without any explanation.
This was not an informal or ad hoc exercise. The recruitment was conducted through the Higher Education Commission and was officially described as transparent and merit based. It had the approval of the policy board. Thousands of qualified candidates trusted the system, invested time and money, and waited patiently. Then, without any public reasoning, the door was abruptly shut on all of them.
Mr Prime Minister,
If this process was transparent, why was it cancelled at the final stage?
If it was flawed, why were candidates taken through examinations, documentation and months of uncertainty?
And most importantly, who pressured the authority to halt a merit based recruitment?
The damage is not limited to disappointed candidates. Many applicants were close to the upper age limit. For them, this was not just another job opportunity. It was their last realistic chance. Today, they feel ignored, misled and abandoned by the state.
The consequences go far beyond individual careers. Nearly 90 to 100 key positions in DRAP have remained vacant for years. This has severely weakened Pakistan’s system for regulating medicines and medical devices. A regulator without qualified professionals cannot protect public health.
This failure also directly undermines a key national objective. Pakistan’s regulatory system is striving to achieve the World Health Organization’s Maturity Level Three status, a milestone that would significantly enhance the global credibility of Pakistan’s regulatory functions. Achieving this status would open doors for pharmaceutical exports to around 50 countries and strengthen Pakistan’s position in international markets. It is also a stated priority under your government’s reform agenda.
However, with critical technical posts lying vacant and a merit based recruitment process abandoned midstream, achieving WHO Maturity Level Three now appears a distant goal.
Mr Prime Minister,
If competent and trained professionals are not hired on merit, unsafe medicines can be registered and faulty medical devices can be approved. This is not speculation. These decisions directly affect what enters hospitals and pharmacies. They determine whether patients are protected or put at risk, whether lives are saved or lost.
Without merit, Pakistan cannot progress economically. Without a strong and independent regulator, people will suffer and lives will be lost. DRAP must function as an autonomous, professional institution, not as an office controlled by section officers or individuals with no technical relevance to drug regulation.
We urge your government to clearly explain why this recruitment was cancelled, identify those responsible, and restore the process transparently and on merit. The cloud hanging over health institutions, especially DRAP, must be lifted. Independent functioning must be ensured, and independent accountability must follow for those who sabotaged the institution.
Mr Prime Minister,
This is not just about employment. It is about public health, state credibility, economic opportunity and the safety of millions of Pakistanis. Ignoring merit here will have consequences, and those consequences will demand answers.
Ends