Senate body calls for formulating health policy to regulate medicines sale

Islamabad

Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control Friday emphasised that there should be a comprehensive health policy to regulate sale of medicines and transfusion as well as sale of blood in the country.

In a meeting chaired by Senator Rahman Malik here senators, Muhammad Javed Abbasi, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif and senior officials of ministries of interior as well as law and justice have been tasked to prepare proposals in this regard to ensure improvement.

Rahman Malik said a report in this regard be submitted in the committee during next four weeks time. The meeting discussed Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2016 which was moved by Senator Azam Khan Swati.

The mover of the bill said in Pakistan many patients lose their lives due to transfusion of unhealthy and unsafe blood which is mainly due to negligence by medical staff who fail to exercise due care.

Azam Swati said this bill aimed to attach penal liability for those who were responsible for causing death or injury to the patients by blood transfusion. He said if a patient lost his life or was paralyzed or suffered from any other infirmity due to transfusion of defective or unhealthy blood those responsible for such transfusion would be punished.

He said the Bill requires amendment which include Insertion of new section 320A Act XLV of 1860 and Insertion of new section 337JJ Act XLV of 1860. The meeting was informed that Ministry of Interior was not in a position to offer substantive view on the Bill and the amended Bill might be forwarded to Ministry of National Health Sciences and Regulations since blood transfusion had a regulatory aspect associated with it and there might be specific legislation wherein there were penal clauses for non compliance.

Accordingly it would be appropriate that not only provincial government but also the Ministry of Health Sciences and Regulations may be consulted for views comments.

With regard to another agenda item   Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2016 the mover Azam Swati said during last few months kidnapping of children and infants is on rise in the country. Many organized gangs are involved in abducting children. Such incidents of abduction have caused panic amongst citizens.

He said the amendment bill strives to punish and stop criminal activity of abduction and kidnapping of children. The amendment seeks to punish those individuals who kidnap the children for ransom or for any other illegal reasons means or purposes from their natural parents or their guardians.

Discussing the Police Order (Amendment) Bill 2016 (Insertion of new sections 320A and 337JJ) also introduced by Senator Azam KhanSwati Rehman Malik said the mover has proposed amendments for welfare of citizens which are aimed at settling all petty affairs at local level.

He directed the concerned officials to re-examine the Local Bodies Act and make it compatible with amendments proposed by Azam Swati. The other agenda items were deferred till next meeting amid directions from chair that senior officials should prepare themselves to brief the committee in detail during its next meeting.