Senate Special Committee declares drugs’ registration unlawful

Senate Special Committee declares drugs’ registration unlawful

The Senate Special Committee on Health Thursday directed the Cabinet Division to cancel all the licences issued to medicines’ companies and registration of drugs made by the federal government during last four and a half months after the devolution of health
ministry to the provinces.

“The government’s decision of allocating functions of drugs’ registration and issuing of licences to Cabinet Division is a violation of the constitution and against the spirit of provincial autonomy,” the committee observed.

The committee also sought the numbers and details of drugs registered and licences issued by the Cabinet Division after devolution of the health ministry under the 18^th Constitutional Amendment.

The committee also directed the Cabinet Division for submitting a report about the vehicles and other assets of the health ministry after its devolution.

Meeting of the Senate Special Committee was held in the Parliament House with Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan in the chair to discuss the formation of DRA and other health related issues.

The committee decided to constitute a body namely Health and Drug Regulatory Authority (HDRA) instead of DRA so that other issues of health regarding federal hospitals and national health programmes could also be handled.

“The officials from provinces will also be included in the proposed authority,” the committee said.

Parliamentary panel unanimously agreed that registrations of drugs made by the cabinet division would be consider as cancelled until these are verified by a legal body in the future.

Senator Kulsoom Parveen of Baluchistan questioned the law under which functions of the proposed Drug Regulatory Authority were transferred to the Cabinet Division and claimed that all decisions taken so far by it were illegal.

She told the committee that the government, ministry of health and other concern departments did not have comprehensive deliberation on the federal and provincial subjects before devolution. “Non-serious attitude of the government and the bureaucracy caused
the complications being faced by the provinces and federal government after the devolution process,” she held.

The committee also directed Cabinet Division to hold consultation with all provinces including FATA, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan about the future of all National Health Programmes including HIV control, Polio eradication and Hepatitis Control.

On the other hand, a member of Committee from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senator Zahid Khan opposing the suggestions said that matters of drug registration and national health programmes should be transferred to the provinces.

“All provinces are capable to run their affairs with international donors as well,” Khan said adding keeping the important health issues with the federal government was against the constitution.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Nov 17 2011. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry