ISLAMABAD: Thirteen officers of the scandals-rocked Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) have been transferred under pressure from a parliamentary committee.

A Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) officer, requesting anonymity, said the pressure came from the National Assembly Standing Committee on NHS, which had been probing complaints about mismanagement and corruption in the health sector for three months, especially issues related to drugs.

Another source revealed that there were some 40 complaints against a single DRAP officer. Of the 13 officers transferred, three held the posts of director and deputy directors general and five each belonged to Grade 17 and 18.

Chairman of the committee Khalid Hussain Magsi, who belongs to the PML-N, appreciating the action, promised to continue pointing out issues in the health department.

According to the Ministry of NHS sources the standing committee took DRAP issues seriously “because medicines are directly related with health and substandard and fake medicine hurt the poor most who cannot afford imported medicines.”

They said the committee mounted pressure for cleaning up DRAP as “there were numerous complaints that some of its officers indulge in corruption and took bribes to allow import of medicines.”

One such officer was transferred after “not only conflict of interest was proved against him but the Law Division also recommended removing him immediately”.

Another officer lost his posting in DRAP because he himself drove an old car while he bought his son a 2015 model car worth Rs5 million.

Such stories annoyed the high-ups of ministry of NHS and the National Assembly standing committee.

“As the Chief Executive Officer of DRAP enjoyed full powers, it was decided he should propose the transfers of the 13 officers,” said one source.

“We held meetings in Karachi, Lahore and in the office of DRAP in Islamabad and focused on the issue of substandard and fake medicines,” standing committee chairman Khalid Hussain Magsi told Dawn.

“We could not tolerate a situation where fake or substandard drugs are given to patients which acted more like poison. It was mandate of the DRAP to stop the manufacturing of substandard drugs and the committee had to interfere,” he said.

“Price of drugs is the other issue which I have been pursuing. We have to sensitize departments that medicine should be sold at reasonable rates,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2015

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