In Pakistan, you can get away with anything!

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The Federal Ministry of Regulation and Services has awarded a drug manufacturing licence to a company that caused a disaster last year by supplying substandard tablets to Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) Lahore and causing deaths of more than a hundred people, Pakistan Today has learnt. Besides other companies, Alflah Pharmaceutical also used to supply cardiovascular 75 mg tablets Alfagirl (Clopidogirl) to PIC, but its licence was cancelled after the death of more than a hundred patients due to defective medicine supplied to PIC by pharmaceuticals. Interestingly, the said company has been given the licence at a time when deaths due to fake and expired medicine have become routine. The Federal Ministry of Regulation and Services, which has been making headlines for the last many months over many issues, including jacking up drug prices, granted licence to M/s Alflah Pharma (Pvt) Ltd, Lahore in a meeting held on August 31. According to documents available with Pakistan Today, Drug Controller and QA/Member Licensing and Quality Control Dr Abdur Rashid chaired the meeting of the Central Licensing Board and approved the licence of the said company. Last year, a team of Federal Investigation Agency that was probing into the scam, prepared a charge sheet against the company, reportedly stating that Alflah Pharma was found involved in the manufacturing of drugs with an invalid licence. The report further revealed that Alflah’s medicine Alfagril, which was supplied to PIC, had been declared substandard in an analysis conducted by the central drugs testing laboratory in Karachi. Still, the Ministry of Regulation and Services awarded the licence without considering the company’s past record. The sources said senior officials of the ministry received huge kickbacks to authorise the licence. Arshad Farooq Faheem, joint secretary of the ministry who is also the acting CEO of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), neither confirmed nor denied the issue of licence to Alflah. He said, “I have no idea of the issuance of licence you are talking about…however, if Alflah meets set standards, I think there should be no objection.” Insiders said after Alflah had succeeded in getting the licence, a Karachi based company banned after the PIC scam was also trying to get its licence renewed.

9 COMMENTS

  1. While the whole world is progressing, Pakistan is set to shatter all records of incompetence and corruption.

  2. Yes,It is absolutely right that anybody can can get anything for which they wish as MIGHT IS RIGHT OR A CUP OF TEA IS A CUPT OF TEA AND ……….AFTER ALL WE ARE LIVING IN MUSLIM STATE AND PROUD OF BEING A MUSLIM AND PRACTICALLY ANYTHING FOR ANYONE IS AVAILABLE WITHOUT ANY HINDRANCE.NOT GOOD THINGS AND WE MUST BE SHAMEFUL TO OUR ACTIONS AND PERFORMANCES. Now is the proper time to change ourselves and be honest and sincerely work and devote our services for the betterment of Pakistan.

    • You are still and always will be an idiot no matter what name you give yourself.By the way,its a so called muslim state where everything goes and does.SACH HAQ lol

  3. Politicians are responsible. beaurucrats fear for their employment so they oblige politicians.
    Now nothing goes over the board, Everything under the table,
    Punjab is trying to excel federal government in corruption.
    Public – who cares,
    Politician knows that they will get mandate again and again from these dumb masses.

  4. I am not surprised at all. What you sow so shall you reap. Corrupt awam elect corrupt politicians and they in turn appoint corrupt beaurucrats with no integrity/calibre/morality and without merits and the result is there for all to see. Meray Moo key taraf ka ya kekhta hai Quaiday Azam ka Pakistan dekh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  5. IN laHore AT Liberty rOund abt…Couple of times, i saw an aged guy near to his 70's…he had a play card in his hand… writing was ( MUJAY QUAID KA PAKISTAN CHAYE )…at that very moment i waS thInkinG …caN he get in his life, what he is asking for….the answer popup in my mind was a BIG…NO…just cz of these no serious idiotic politicians for whom its just a game…

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