A five-member committee has been formed to investigate the supply of substandard medicines to hospitals in Okara, caretaker Punjab Health Minister Javed Akram said on Monday.

“I am taking action on the incident and a report will be sought from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan,” Akram told Aaj News via telephone while speaking about query pertaining to alleged negligence of staff where unapproved medicines were supplied to hospitals.

According to our correspondent, the authority has issued letters to hospitals to recall the unapproved medicines.

An amount of Rs9 million was paid to the company in the form of medicines. The anti-corruption has also started an inquiry into the matter.

The caretaker Punjab health minister has said that precious lives have been lost even before due to substandard medicines. “The people involved in this incident will definitely be punished.”

He said that the medicine could be harmful to people, adding that it was necessary to recall it from the market. There would be an advertisement in the newspapers about the medicine, Akram said.

The minister added that a five-member committee has been formed to investigate the matter and an action would be taken against the factory owners under the Drug Act.

He said that the director general has left for Okara for investigation and the chief pharmacist has been suspended. Further action would be taken after the inquiry report.

Meanwhile, the Health Department has suspended four officers and employees after taking notice of the incident.

According to the notification, former Okara CCO Mehr Akhtar Hussain, pharmacist Hafiz Daniyal Ali, chief technician Shah Nawaz, and storekeeper Muhammad Azhar have been suspended.

It added that an inquiry committee has also been formed to investigate the matter. The additional secretary, pharmacy director, and deputy drug controller would conduct an inquiry. It would submit a report after determining those responsible.

The inquiry committee would also recommend action against those responsible.