RAWALPINDI, Feb 20: The Lahore High Court (LHC) here on Friday issued notices to the federal health secretary and manager Extended Programme of Immunization of National Institute of Health (NIH) seeking their reply in a petition against the purchase of some vaccines despite restraining orders by the court.

Justice Abdul Shakoor Paracha of the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench directed the secretary and the manager to submit their reply on February 27. The NIH had allegedly purchased different kinds of vaccines from UNICEF against Rs540 million despite a stay by the court.

Mirza Waqas Rauf the lawyer of the petitioner of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) president of Rawalpindi-Islamabad chapter Dr Mohammad Arshad Rana told Dawn that the court on Wednesday restrained the NIH from entering into any deal with the UNICEF for purchasing vaccines but the NIH had proceeded with the deal without floating tenders in violation of relevant rules.

The court also directed the ministry of health and manager of the NIH programme to submit a detailed report on the government’s policy regarding procurement of vaccines for immunization within three weeks.

Making the ministry and the NIH Programme as respondents the PMA had filed a writ petition with the court saying the ministry had not been floating proper tenders for purchasing various kinds of vaccines such as for rabbis and polio. The government had been violating procurement rules of 2004.

The petitioner had maintained that in 2006 the ministry had submitted an undertaking in the court that in future the procurement rules would be followed but in 2008 they again violated the rules while purchasing vaccines from UNICEF.

Meanwhile, Justice Mazhar Hussain Minhas of the LHC directed ministry of defence and Chaklala Cantonment Board to submit a detailed report in the court within three weeks to show their intention whether alternative housing units were being raised for the government employees dispossessed from Gracy Lines flats.

A total 108 petitioners making defence ministry through its secretary and station commander filed a petition claiming 1350 people mostly employees of federal government had been displaced by the cantonment board.

The petitioners maintained that they had been living in the flats since the federal capital was shifted to Islamabad from Rawalpindi and the federal ombudsman in 1996 had directed the station commander not to displace the residents till alternate arrangements were not made for their residences.