LAHORE: Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court on Monday against alleged irregularities in the purchase of medicines at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) in Lahore.

The opposition leader, who is also chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, filed the petition through Advocate Sheraz Zaka saying he wanted to expose the corrupt and malpractices of the provincial government and its functionaries involved in misappropriation of taxpayer’s money regarding purchase of medicines and other disposable items in bulk at the PIC.

The petitioner states the government awarded the contract to a private medical store for bulk purchase of medicines and other medical disposable items.

He alleges the respondent medical store has been blatantly flouting terms and conditions of the contract by providing medicines to the PIC at excessively higher rates than the prevailing market price.

Rasheed alleges the store’s management in connivance with government authorities is engaged in such malpractices and misappropriating the tax payers’ money.

He pleads that all the malpractices relating to the government departments are to be scrutinised by the public accounts committee. However, he says, since 2013 the committee has remained dysfunctional and details of the impugned contract are not being provided to it.

The petitioner asks the court to order the chief minister to initiate an inquiry to expose the wrongdoings of the officials involved in purchase of medicines and details of the contract with the respondent medical store be presented before the PAC for the scrutiny.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2016