KARACHI, March 24: Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat ul Ibad Khan on Saturday ordered imposition of a ban on issuing licences for new medical stores in Sindh.

A well-placed source said the governor gave this order to control sale of fake drugs in the province and suspend issuing new licences to medical stores or chemist shops till a strategy was evolved to ensure enforcement of Federal Drug Act.

Speaking at a meeting on the sale of fake or spurious disease in Sindh, Dr Ibad called for strict vigilance of medical stores. He directed the concerned quarters to prepare a strategy by next week to control the manufacture and sale of fake drugs in the province. The meeting was attended by health minister Syed Sardar Ahmed, Sindh Ombudsman Yousuf Jamal, health secretary Naushad Sheikh, law secretary Ghulam Nabi Shah, DG Health Dr. Hadi Bux Jatoi and representatives from federal health ministry.

According to the source, there are 25,000 medical stores in Sindh. Under devolution of the government, now licenses are issued by the EDO at district level, but monitoring is not done by the district or city government. Drug officers belonging to the federal and provincial governments, whose number is limited, inspect the medical stores and collect samples of drugs for testing. Karachi has only six drug inspectors, who report to the provincial health department, while their salaries are paid by the city government.

Under the law, the provincial health department is not empowered enough to take action against the quarters involved in manufacturing, packing or refilling spurious or substandard drugs.

The health authorities have to lodge an FIR with the police. The governor also directed to review possibilities of outsourcing the drug inspection system. He said chemists selling fake drugs should be taken to task and given exemplary punishment.

He was of the view the concept of wholesale chemists be done away with and only distributors and retail shops be permitted to sell medicines.

Dr Ibad also stressed the need to upgrade drug testing laboratories in Sindh and to increase their numbers. He also instructed to compile the data of all chemist shops.