Patients, hospitals run out of life saving medicines: Report
Islamabad: The continued closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has created a fast-deepening humanitarian and medical emergency in Afghanistan, where nearly seventy percent of essential medicines come from Pakistan and thirty to forty thousand Afghan patients travel every month for treatment in Pakistani hospitals.
A confidential assessment prepared by Pakistani institutions warns that the shutdown has cut Afghan patients off from cancer care, cardiac follow-ups, dialysis, neonatal treatment and other specialised services, and has pushed Afghanistan into a dangerous medication shortage that could cause avoidable deaths on a large scale.
The classified report says Pakistani pharmaceutical exports worth more than two hundred million dollars annually have been at a complete standstill for weeks, after Islamabad decided to block all trade except UNICEF, WFP and other UN consignments until a formal agreement is reached.
For Afghanistan, which has no local pharmacopoeia and no system to safely switch patients from Pakistani formulations to Indian, Bangladeshi, Iranian or Turkish medicines, the abrupt stoppage has destabilised treatment for millions of people dependent on Pakistani drugs for heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy, psychiatric illness, infections and post-surgical recovery.
According to the assessment, the shortage has already forced high-risk medication gaps for cardiac patients, diabetics, dialysis patients, transplant recipients and pregnant women. Afghan doctors are avoiding unfamiliar substitutes because there are no equivalence tables to guide safe switching.
The report says this has triggered widespread suffering and created an immediate threat of heart attacks, diabetic coma, kidney failure, breakthrough seizures, psychiatric instability and maternal deaths.
The confidential document also warns that criminal groups and hostile regional actors, particularly India, are exploiting the vacuum by pushing counterfeit medicines into the Afghan market packaged as Pakistani products. Field intelligence cited in the assessment shows Indian networks relabelling low-quality drugs in Pakistani-style packaging to capture market share and damage Pakistan’s credibility.
The report warns that a single death linked to counterfeit medicines marked as Pakistani could lead to international investigation, negative media coverage and pressure on global agencies to restrict Pakistani exports.
Abdullah Butt, a Pakistani health consultant working across twenty Afghan provinces, said the crisis is already visible inside hospitals. He said thirty to forty thousand Afghan patients who normally cross the border every month for cancer treatment, kidney care, cardiac surgeries, orthopaedic reviews and neonatal emergencies are now stranded without access to Pakistani specialists.
Butt, who is the CEO of Educast, a global digital health platform operating with Islamic Development Bank and Afghanistan Humanatarian Trust Fund since 3 years trained 5000 afghan doctors including 2500 afghan female healthcare professionals, said medicine shortages for insulin, blood pressure drugs, heart medicines, antibiotics, anti-seizure drugs and psychiatric medications have stretched beyond sixty days in some areas, and counterfeit products are spreading fast.
He warned that Afghanistan’s inability to replace Pakistani drugs safely has pushed patients into dangerous, unmonitored switching. He said fake medicines falsely labelled as Pakistani brands are causing direct harm and that Afghan authorities, doctors and hospital networks are reporting an alarming rise in complications.
Abdullah Butt said this crisis could trigger long-term resentment if Afghans attribute deaths to “Pakistani medicines”, even when the products are counterfeit supplied by hostile actors.
He said Pakistan faces major economic and reputational risks. With Pakistan holding over seventy percent of Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical market, the report says prolonged closure may push Afghan importers into permanent contracts with India, Bangladesh and local Afghan manufacturers. Butt said once market share is lost it is almost impossible to reclaim, especially when Indian suppliers are aggressively positioning themselves as the alternative.
Ahmed Popal, Chairman of Afghanistan’s Private Hospitals Association, said the vacuum is already changing buying patterns. He said Afghan pharmacies were dominated by Pakistani brands from companies such as Getz, Sami, AGP, Pharmevo, Sante and Hilton, but are now shifting to Indian, Bangladeshi and Afghan products.
He said Turkish and Iranian medicines are present but in limited quantities and cannot meet demand. He said if the crisis continues, Pakistani products will be replaced permanently.
The confidential assessment says the humanitarian fallout and reputational consequences for Pakistan are severe. Cross-border medical tourism worth billions of rupees has collapsed. Afghan families who trusted Pakistani hospitals for decades are now turning to whatever medicines they can find. The report also warns that anti-Pakistan sentiment could rise as India amplifies Afghan suffering through regional and international media and blames Pakistan for the shortage of essential medicines.
Officials involved in preparing the assessment say Pakistan must urgently establish regulated humanitarian corridors for medicines, assist Afghan authorities in blocking counterfeit drugs, and provide telehealth services to Afghan patients who have been cut off from their doctors. They say protecting Afghan lives and safeguarding Pakistan’s reputation as the country’s most trusted health partner must remain the priority until a new border framework is finalised.
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