Organisational structure of PAFDA approved

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif presided over first meeting of Board of Punjab Agriculture Food and Drug Authority (PAFDA), here on Thursday which accorded approval to organisational structure and other affairs of the authority. Addressing the meeting, the CM said that Punjab Agriculture Food and Drug Authority have been set up for ensuring provision of quality medicines and adulteration free food to the people. He said that the authority will also play an effective role in connection with provision of quality agri medicines to the farmers.
He said that those making the people to eat poison in the name of food and medicines deserve no leniency and added that no one will be allowed economic murder of the cultivators through the business of spurious agri-medicines. Shahbaz said that the heinous trade of preparation and sale of adulterated food and spurious medicines will be rooted out from the province.
He said that establishment of authority is of paramount importance for eliminating the dreadful business of fake and substandard medicines and the aim of setting up of the authority is to remove abuses in the business of food and medicines. He said that an autonomous system is being brought through PAFDA and the flaws present in the business of food and medicines for decades will be removed through this new system. Quality food and medicines are necessary for the constitution of a healthy society and quality agri medicines for the promotion of agriculture.
The CM said that the authority will include Member Agriculture, Member Food and Member Drug who will perform all affairs pertaining to their sections. He directed to constitute finance, technical, human resource and procurement committees for running the affairs of the authority and said that the project of setting up of PAFDA Science Laboratory should be forwarded speedily in a professional manner and this project is directly linked to human health therefore, delay of even one day in the project is intolerable.
Shahbaz directed to import state-of-the-art machinery for the project. He said that recruitment process for the project should be completed in a transparent manner and the staff will be trained from aboard. He said that experts from private sector have been included in Board of the Authority to benefit from their experiences.
Director General PAFDA Dr Muhammad Ashraf Tahir gave a briefing on organisational structure and other affairs of the authority. Provincial Ministers Bilal Yasin, Kh Salman Rafiq, Kh Imran Nazir, Additional Chief Secretary, Secretaries Agriculture. Finance, Health, Food, private sector experts and concerned officials were present on the occasion while Chairman Planning and Development Jehanzaib Khan participated the meeting through video link.