Body set up to check substandard drugs, fake doctors, dentists: National Assembly body dissatisfied with Health Ministry's performance

National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights has expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of Health Ministry and constituted a sub-Committee to take up the issue of substandard drugs, fake doctors, dentists and advertisements of quacks in press who fleece innocent public.
The Sub-Committee was headed by Sardar Mehtab Ahmed comprising three members Ms Yasmeen Rehman, Dr Mehreen Razzaque Bhutto and Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood. The Standing Committee has discussed the issues of illegal transplantation of kidneys and practice of unregistered doctors and Hakeems in a meeting held under Riaz Fatayna at Parliament House on Friday.
Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, MNA Ms Fauzia Habib, MNA Dr Mehreen Razzaque Bhutto, Dr Araish Kumar, Ms Yasmeen Rehman, and Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood attended the meeting. The Committee paid rich tributes to Syed Mumtaz Alam Gilani Ex-Minister, Ministry of Human Rights for his services for restoration of Human Rights in Pakistan. He was invited to attend the meetings regularly, in the future as a special invitee.
With regard to health issues, the Committee expressed displeasure to Secretary Ministry of Health for not attending the meeting despite repeated calls/messages. The committee expressed concern that Ministry of Health/relevant Departments failed to implement the clauses/code of Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissue Act. Even people from Europe and India are coming to Pakistan to purchase kidneys.
The illegal transplantation of kidneys is still running in the country. The EDOs are mainly responsible. Ministry of Health should launch effective, monitoring programmes, awareness campaign in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Quetta. It should initiate awareness through incentives programmes/cash award to point out complaints and issue instructions to concerned hospitals.
During the briefing the Committee, it was told that prior to the enactment of "Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 2010," about 200 kidney transplants were being performed in Pakistan. Out of these 1500 were foreigners who were getting kidneys from poor Pakistanis.
The Secretary of Health Ministry told the meeting that a total of 73,000 samples were taken and 2,800 shops of medical stores were sealed in a year. He added that 1,580 cases were registered in drugs court and more than Rs 30.98 million were fined during a year. The Committee constituted monitoring Committees of Parliamentarians for Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Multan and Peshawar to look after illegal transplantation of Kidneys.
The Committee took seriously note for substandard medicines and criticised on the performance of Tib Council. The Committee advised the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Law to finalise medicines Act without further delay and furnish progress report to the Standing Committee on Human Rights.
The Committee unanimously recommended that Ministry of Health/Tib Council have failed to provide the health services to the people. Chairman handed over list of irregularities in Tib Council to the Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi. Chairman Standing Committee Raiz Hussain Fatyana constituted a sub-Committee under Convenership of Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi to furnish report about drugs, and affairs of Tib Council.
The Committee seriously criticised that mainly law enforcing agencies especially, Pakistan Police have totally failed in maintaining law and order situation. They are involved in torture, substandard prosecution and registration of false cases, the victimization policy should be called off by the police.
Syed Ayaz Ali Sherazi, MNA explained about the tyrannies of Thatta police and alleged that four false FIRs have been registered within three years against him, which are not based on facts. The Committee recommended that since Hyderabad/Thatta police has harassed in the instant case, therefore, all further proceedings should be stopped.