Action planned against elements writing letters to IMF, World Bank against Pakistani institutions, officials

Islamabad: Health authorities have decided to approach Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as well as intelligence agencies against some ‘notorious elements’ who have written letters to the international organisations including Financial Action Task Force (FATF), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and others against national institutions in order to ‘blackmail and coerce’ government officials, officials said.

“The health ministry has decided to approach the FIA as well as intelligence agencies against some notorious elements who are involved in systematic anti-state activities for quite some time.

We have intercepted several letters, emails and memorandums written to FATF, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations, asking them to stop funds and loans to Pakistan, charging that some Pakistani institutions and officials were ‘corrupt’ and ‘involved’ in money laundering”, a senior official at National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination told ‘The News’.

The official claimed that these elements were exerting pressure on the ministry as well as Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for last five years to end their cases before Drug Court and allow them to continue producing fake, spurious and lethal medicines.

According to letters and emails written to international monetary agencies by some so-called pharmacists, FATF, IMF, World Bank and WHO were urged to ‘stop funds and loans’ to Pakistan as officials in the ministry of national health and its institutions were ‘corrupt and involved in money laundering’, the official further claimed.

The health ministry official claimed that the principal accused is a person, who claims to the secretary general of an unregistered pharmacist association and has a history of filing false and frivolous complaints before various authorities and judicial forums in Pakistan.

“Due to false and frivolous nature, various complaints filed by him to the FIA, NAB and other Pakistani institutions have already been dismissed. But in order to black-mail the health ministry officials, they now have started approaching the international monetary agencies and financial institutions, which amounts to sedition”, the ministry official claimed.

Similarly, these elements have written emails to WHO Headquarters in Geneva, in EMRO region and in Pakistan to stop giving international accreditation to DRAP and provincial laboratories, accusing that DRAP and ministry are marred with corruption, he added.

“On the other hand, DRAP is currently in the process of being accredited by WHO and PIC/S (Pharmaceuticals Inspection Convention Scheme); the accreditations would place Pakistan among the World Health Organization’s listed authorities in the world. However, the anti-state activities and constant false and frivolous complaints by these people are adversely affecting the process of accreditations”, the official claimed.

When approached, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) DRAP confirmed that their officials including those involved in actions against spurious and unregistered drugs were being black-mailed for the last five years by a group of people for withdrawal of their cases against them in the drugs courts, saying these ‘elements’ were using all means including use of mainstream and social media to malign the authority and its officials.

“All the Chief Executive Officers of DRAP including Dr. Muhammad Aslam, Shaikh Akhtar Hussain and myself have been black-mailed, threatened and pressurized not to take the action against people who were involved in producing fake, spurious and counterfeit medicines. Similarly, our senior officers in the licensing, registration and those involved in actions against counterfeit medicines are also being defamed and black-mailed”, CEO DRAP Asim Rauf said.

Asim Rauf deplored that it is very easy to accuse any person of committing corruption in Pakistan without any evidence, adding that so far, no investigation agency including FIA and NAB have found any truth in these elements’ accusations and.

“But in addition to approaching local investigation agencies, these people are involved in anti-state activities by lodging complaints with FATF, IMF, WHO and other international agencies, which amounts to high treason and sedition. On our requests, health ministry have approached FIA and intelligence to take action against these elements”, he added.