The Lahore High Court on Tuesday sought a report from the Punjab health secretary on a petition against government’s failure to control the measles outbreak.
The court also issued notice to the attorney general of Pakistan for assistance in the matter.
Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan passed the orders on a petition filed by Judicial Activism Panel, a public interest litigation firm.
Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that Punjab in particular and the rest of the areas in Pakistan in general had been caught by measles which caused deaths of a number of children.
He stated that the disease was preventable if precautionary measures were taken by the authorities concerned before its outbreak, adding that the current outbreak was an open failure of the government machinery in controlling a preventable disease.
The counsel requested that directions be given to the respondents federal and Punjab government officials to control the frequent outbreak of the measles on war footing. He prayed the court to issue directions for criminal action/proceedings against the responsible so that the grievance of the aggrieved may be redressed.
