On August 9, 2019, the Imran Khan Niazi's government in Pakistan had suspended its trade relations with India in retaliation against New Delhi’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Pakistan with the tally jumped to nearly 33,000, the country is importing key life-saving drugs and vitamins from India, The Dawn has reported.

To ensure that there is no shortage of essential drugs in the country amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the Pakistan government has lifted the ban on import of medicines and raw material from India, said the report.

Pakistan’s leading English daily has reported that a number of vitamins, drugs and medicinal salts were recently imported from India, quoting a document of Pakistan’s ministry of national health services (NHS), the report further stated.

On August 9, 2019, the Imran Khan government in Pakistan suspended its trade relations with India in retaliation against New Delhi’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.

However, Islamabad relented after the appeal of the pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan for relaxation and clearance for goods imported from India, suggested the report.

The publication quoted an anonymous official of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) as saying that initially it was claimed that cancer patients would suffer if import of medicines and their raw material from India were banned.

“However, later all kinds of medicines were imported from India due to which we have been transferring the foreign exchange to India,” he said.