ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association (PYPA) on Thursday requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan to initiate criminal investigation against Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza over alleged corruption.
In a letter addressed to Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Dr Furqan Ibrahim, Secretary General PYPA said that Dr Zafar Mirza was running an NGO named “The Network for Consumer Protection”.
He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has appointed Dr Zafar Mirza as Special Assistant for Health after the termination of former health minister Amer Kayani on alleged corruption of illegal medicine price increase up to 400 percent, wherein billions of rupees were looted and embezzled. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered to reduce the medicine prices within 72 hours while Dr Zafar Mirza did a number of press conferences that not only prices would be reduced, but the entire looted money will be recovered from pharmaceutical companies. It was promised that the recovered money will be given to Bait-ul-Mal and embezzlers will be punished as per law.
“The ground reality is that Dr Zafar Mirza did not try to reduce prices of medicines, rather the medicine prices continued to increase since the appointment of Dr Zafar Mirza as special assistant to PM,” Furqan Ibrahim said
He said that it is alleged that Dr Zafar Mirza is hands in glove with a cartel of 50 large pharmaceutical companies. Thus, he alleged, Dr Zafar Mirza remained instrumental in defaming the present government and intentionally failed the government on control of medicine prices.
He alleged that Dr Zafar Mirza has imported Rs3 billion typhoid vaccine from India, the source was not approved by WHO, and vaccine was not tested. He further alleged that Dr. Zafar Mirza has illegally appointed junior doctors, as head of all hospitals administered by the federal government which resulted in collapse of healthcare system. He further alleged that Dr Zafar Mirza has illegally appointed his NGO associates and friends as consultants on enormous salaries.
“On the top of all, Dr Zafar Mirza got appointment of Azhar Hussain as Member (judge) Drug Court Islamabad who was employee of Dr Zafar Mirza in ‘The Network for Consumer Protection’”, he added and further informed that Azhar Hussain is owner of a medical store in Islamabad namely “Green Pharmacy” and ownership of a medical store is direct conflict of interest for appointment of judge of Drug Court.
Meanwhile, The News contacted repeatedly Special Assistant to Prime Minister on health Dr Zafar Mirza on his cell phone however his cell phone remained off.