Minister for all districts’ role in elimination of spurious drugs

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Primary & Secondary Healthcare Khwaja Imran Nazir has said that District Quality Control Boards (DQCBs) of all the districts should play an effective role in elimination of spurious and substandard medicines from the province.

He said it is the prime responsibility of the government to provide quality medicines to the citizens and strict action will be taken against those who are playing with the lives of people. He stated this while presiding over a meeting of DQCBs of all the districts, here on Sunday. Additional Secretary Drug Wing Muhammad Sohail, Chief Drug Controller, secretaries DQCBs of all the districts besides Azhar Saleemi and other officers attended the meeting. The meeting reviewed the performance of District Quality Control Boards.

Kh Imran Nazir directed the District Quality Control Boards secretaries to dispose of pending cases of medicines on priority basis. He said that no delay in the cases without any genuine reason would be acceptable. He said that drug inspectors, officers of drug wing and all District Quality Control Boards should discharge their duty with the spirit of serving the nation for elimination of spurious drugs from the province.

Minister flays church blast: Provincial Minister for Human Rights Khalil Tahir Sandhu has condemned the terrorist attacks on a Church in Quetta. The minister said that it was a horrific incident of terrorism. In this hour of sadness, the Punjab government is standing with the Christian community of Balochistan, he said. He said terrorism was a global issue. Terrorists do not belong to any nation or religion and they were the enemies of humanity, he added. The minister said that security forces of Pakistan were performing well to eliminate terrorism all over the country. The minister has also written a letter to the inspector general of police, Punjab, to beef up security of churches in Punjab after the incident.Meanwhile Archbishop Dr Joseph Arshad, Director Rev Fr Emmanuel Yousaf (Mani) and Executive Director Cecil S Chaudhry, in a joint statement, condemned the inhuman attack on the church and the worshippers in Quetta.

They extended their condolences to the victim families. They prayed for the victims and their families. They also appreciated the timely response of the police and security forces who helped secure the lives of nearly 400 worshipers present in the church.

They called upon the government to bring the perpetrators to justice and address the extremist elements and root causes of intolerance. They stressed the need to tighten measures for protection of all citizens, especially during Christmas. They also requested the community to cooperate with the officials and extend their services for the security of people during Christmas. They demanded true implementation of the Supreme Court judgment of June 19, 2014 and National Action Plan (NAP) for eradication of terrorism and extremism from the country.