Around two dozen medical stores were sealed in Quetta for selling counterfeit and fake medicines on Saturday.

The officials of district administration and Drug Quality Control Board conducted raids in various parts of Quetta and sealed the medical stores which were selling counterfeit and fake medicines.

"We found fake medicines in 22 out of the 23 medical stores raided on Saturday", Deputy Commissioner Quetta Abdul Wahid Kakar told Dawn.com.

Editorial: Substandard drugs

Drug Quality Control Board Secretary Dr Imdadullah said that an alarming 80 per cent of the medicines being sold in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan were found to be counterfeit.

"We have sent 109 cases of fake medicines to drug court", he said.

The district administration also arrested two quacks operating in Ghousabad area of Quetta. Their clinics were sealed after fake medicines were recovered from their possession, the deputy commissioner informed.

A crack-down was launched against these elements selling counterfeit and fake drugs in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan after DawnNews reported about selling of fake medicines earlier this week.

The chief secretary of Balochistan had taken notice of the issue and directed the secretary health, commissioner Quetta division and deputy commissioner to take action against the elements playing with lives of the people.

Sale of fake and substandard medicines is at peak in rural areas of Balochistan since there is no check and balance, Dr Imdadullah said.

Apart from Quetta, fake and counterfeit medicines are being smuggled to volatile Southern Afghanistan as well.