Last week, a pharmacist at the Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH) was arrested for being involved in the regular theft of medicines from the quota of legislators.

Dr Durdana Kazmi, who is in-charge of the dispensary at the Parliament House, approached the interior minister last month and lodged a complaint about the theft of the medicines.

The police arrested the accused and handed the case over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The minister ordered an inquiry, in response to Dr Kazmi’s complaint and the matter was referred to the capital police for investigation.

According to Dr Kazmi’s complaint, the accused pharmacist was stationed at the Parliament Lodges a number of times. The dispensary at the lodges is operated by the FGSH.

Dr Kazmi accused the pharmacist of having forged a prescription on the letter head of a Dr Jamal for MNA Tahira Bukhari and used this prescription to get medicines. It was later revealed that neither Dr Jamal wrote the prescription nor had the MNA approached the doctor to get the prescription.

She also stated in the complaint that the authorities at the FGSH were aware of the pharmacist’s actions and he used his connections to repeatedly get deputed at the Parliament Lodges.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials close to the investigation told Dawn the pharmacist was in police custody on an eight-day physical remand. He had already confessed to the fraud and said that he committed the fraud in connivance with a lower divisional clerk posted at the National Assembly. He told the police the clerk had helped him forge prescriptions for medicines worth Rs40,000 which they later stole. After the fraud surfaced, the clerk disappeared and efforts are being made to trace him.

FGSH, dispensary and National Assembly staff told Dawn the same pharmacist had been accused of theft three times, in the past and removed from his post at the lodges dispensary. In 2014, FGSH chief accountant and director research conducted separate inquiries and found the pharmacist guilty.

In April 2014, the pharmacist was suspended for 90 days but was later restored to his position. He also repeatedly used his contacts to get himself transferred to the dispensary at the Parliament Lodges. Staff at the dispensary alleged that he had links with legislators and senior FGSH officials.

When a National Assembly official was asked if the pharmacist had more accomplices who helped him in the fraud, he replied that possibility cannot be ruled out.

“So far, a single case of forgery and theft has been proven and if the FIA finds evidence regarding other accomplices, action would be taken against them,” the official said.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2015

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