SIALKOT: Special teams of the health department sealed 108 private hospitals and clinics in violation of the Drugs Control Act and got registered 11 cases against quacks in urban and rural areas of the district in 2015.

DCO Dr Asif Tufail said this while presiding over a meeting of the District Quality Control Board (DQCB) held here.

EDO (Health) Dr Javaid Warraich told the meeting that special inspection teams had inspected 2,716 hospitals, clinics, laboratories, medical stores and pharmaceutical manufacturing units in Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur tehsils during the year.

He said these teams had sent 676 samples of different drugs to Drugs Testing Laboratory in Lahore, 14 such cases to the PQCB and 273 cases to the District Quality Board for further action.

The EDO said 128 challans of private clinics, hospitals and medical stores had been sent to the drugs court in Lahore for trial.

He said the drugs court had imposed a fine of Rs0.9 million in 33 different cases.

Mr Warraich said the legal action had been taken against 205 owners of private clinics and hospitals for selling expired and prohibited medicines.

The DCO directed senior health officials to take legal action without any discrimination against all those found violating the Drugs Control Act.

He said that quacks had been playing with the lives of the people, adding the people involved in selling expired and prohibited medicines were the enemy of the humanity.

He directed the authorities concerned to launch a crackdown on quacks in the Sialkot district.

HONOUR KILLINGS: Two women were shot dead in the name of honour, two committed suicide and two others were abducted in the district during the last two days.

At Daska’s Talwara Rajputan village, Waqas shot dead his mother-in-law in an honour-related incident. He fled afterwards.

The Motra police registered a case.

Abdul Aziz Khan shot dead his 15-year-old daughter at her home at Machraala village (Head Marala). Police said the man confessed to killing his daughter to preserve honour.

The Head Marala police registered a case.

Shagufta Bibi, mother of four, committed suicide over a domestic dispute at Daska’s Mughalpura area. Perveen Bibi took poison at Bhagatpur village.

In another incident, three armed men abducted a woman at Pull Bajwaan village, while five armed men forcibly took away a girl “A” at Shahabpura locality.

BAR POLLS: Senior lawyer Maqsood Ahmed Bhatti was elected president of the Sialkot District Bar Association (DBA).

According to the results, Sarfraz Ahmed Ghumman was elected general secretary and Tayyab Majeed Chaudhry joint secretary.

Earlier, Muhammad Amjad Bajwa was elected unopposed vice president, Gull Deeba Sahi (finance secretary) and Muhammad Waqas Ali (library secretary).

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016