Supreme Court ultimately intervenes in PIC faulty drug deaths’ case
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 11:19:09 by Faisal Farooq
After facing severe criticism from different circles of society, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, at long last, took suo motu notice of the deaths of over 100 heart patients due to use of spurious drugs distributed by the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC).
The CJP while taking notice into the matter, on a note initiated by Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, a judge of the Supreme Court, issued notices to the Attorney General, Punjab Advocate General, Federal and Provincial Secretaries, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) DG and IG Punjab.
He issued directives to his office to register the note as a petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, as prima facie it looked that provisions of articles 9 and 14 had not been adhered to sternly.
The chief justice ordered the court office to fix the matter before a three-judge bench comprising Justice Jillani, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Mian Saqib Nisar.
Justice Jillani in his note to the Chief Justice observed, “The news of the deaths of more than 90 heart patients under treatment at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) allegedly on account of either spurious drugs or wrong prescription of blood-thinning and lipid-lowering medicine has been noted with immense shock and concern.”
He further stated that the matter was grave and had rightly raised public anger and a demand for action.
Justice Jillani also cited a news report suggesting that the Pakistan Medical Association had given a strike call in protest against the arrest of PIC doctors.
He was quoted, “There is a news item in The News of January 30, 2012 that expecting arrest of doctors posted in the PIC, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has, in protest, given a strike call and has given its own version of the tragedy i.e. that those involved in the purchase of spurious medicine and their clearance from the Drug Attesting Laboratory are free, but the doctors are being made victims of a penal action.”
It is vital to note here that the death toll hitherto was reported to have climbed 114, with at least 400 cardiac patients currently under treatment at various hospitals in the provincial metropolis.
Tags: Attorney General, Chief Justice, fake drugs, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jillani, PIC, PMA, punjab, Supreme Court
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