Punjab Governor Sardar Muhammad Latif Khosa said on Thursday that the deaths of more than 100 people due to spurious drugs had exposed the Punjab government’s incompetence.
He demanded that a judicial commission be formed to investigate the issue. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day international conference on Toxicology at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. He said the Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had kept the decision-making power in his hands which had complicated things, adding that the CM’s behaviour resembled that of a Mughal prince. He stated that after 18th amendment was passed, the provinces were given the responsibility to establish the Drug Control Authority. Khosa added also pointed out that the local body elections were being postponed since the last four years. “Pakistan is facing tremendous environmental problems, including air, water and soil pollution due to the degradation its natural resources and disruption of the ecosystem,” he said. He stated that environmental pollution was creating hurdles in achieving economic empowerment. The governor urged the scientists, researchers and scholars to conduct researches on food safety, water preservation, waste management, and control over drugs and poisons.
