Pakistani health authorities have begun urgent efforts to safeguard pharmaceutical supplies after Islamabad halted all trade with India, a move triggered by rising tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack, according to a report on Saturday.

On Thursday, Pakistan announced the suspension of its trade relations with New Delhi after India decided to pull out of the Indus Waters Treaty, an agreement crucial to water sharing between the two nations.

Citing official sources, Geo News reported that the abrupt trade freeze prompted immediate action from Pakistan’s health sector, with agencies scrambling to ensure uninterrupted access to critical medicines.

Although no formal directive has yet been issued on the pharmaceutical sector’s status, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) confirmed that contingency plans are underway.

"We had anticipated such a scenario after the 2019 crisis and had begun preparations back then," a senior DRAP official was quoted as saying. "We are now actively exploring alternative supply lines."

Pakistan depends on India for about 30% to 40% of its pharmaceutical raw materials, including Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and high-end therapeutic products. With Indian supplies now uncertain, DRAP is seeking new sources from China, Russia, and European countries to fill the gap.

The agency’s focus is to maintain the supply of essential items such as anti-rabies vaccines, anti-snake venom, cancer treatments, monoclonal antibodies, and other vital biological products.

Despite DRAP’s efforts to assure the public, pharmaceutical industry leaders and health experts have raised concerns about possible shortages if immediate steps aren't taken to secure alternative imports.

"We import a significant share of pharmaceutical raw materials and finished products like cancer drugs and life-saving vaccines from India," a senior Ministry of National Health Services official said on condition of anonymity.

The Ministry of Health has not yet received specific instructions regarding pharmaceutical imports, despite the broader announcement of suspended trade.

Industry insiders fear that without exemptions, Pakistan could face severe shortages of critical medicines.

The situation is further complicated by the existence of a flourishing black market that smuggles unregistered and often unregulated medicines into Pakistan via Afghanistan, Iran, Dubai, and across its eastern border. While these channels sometimes plug supply gaps, they raise serious concerns about the quality and reliability of medicines.

On Thursday, a delegation from the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) visited Islamabad to lobby for an exemption for the pharmaceutical sector from the trade suspension.

"We met with officials from DRAP and the Ministry of Commerce and emphasized that life-saving medicines should not be caught in the middle of political decisions," said Tauqeer-ul-Haq, Chairman of the PPMA. The delegation also petitioned the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to safeguard pharmaceutical trade in the interest of public health.

Public health experts, however, argue that the crisis also highlights the urgent need for Pakistan to invest in domestic manufacturing of APIs, vaccines, and biologicals.

"This disruption could mark a turning point," said senior health expert Zafar Iqbal, suggesting that the country must prioritize self-reliance in pharmaceutical production.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated sharply after a brutal terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday, which left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead. The attack, claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was the deadliest assault in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama attack.