Latest news with #QasimSirajSoomro
Express Tribune
12-05-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Red flag on 'spurious' medicines purchase
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly has ordered an audit of the Provincial Health Department's medicine procurement worth billions of rupees amid concerns of purchase of sub-standard medicines. The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has been directed to provide technical staff to the Director General of Audit, Sindh for the audit. The PAC meeting was held in the committee room on Monday with Nisar Khuro in the chair. The meeting reviewed the audit paras of the Sindh Health Department for the 2018 and 2019. Committee members Qasim Siraj Soomro, Taha Ahmed, Rehan Rajput, Secretary Health Rehan Baloch, and other officials attended the meeting. The meeting raised a question about the the mechanism for medicine procurement and the criteria for awarding contracts to companies. Health secretary informed that medicine procurement is done through a procurement committee via tendering process. The PAC ordered an audit of the health department's medicine procurement worth billions of rupees. During the discussion on audit paras related to the chief drug inspector, committee member Qasim Soomro asked about the actions taken against unregistered and substandard medicines and why medical stores, found selling such medicines, were not sealed. Chief Drug Inspector Hafeez Tunio informed the PAC that drug inspectors, along with FIA teams, had taken action against spurious and unregistered medicines in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Mirpurkhas, and 25 FIRs had been registered during the past five months. However, he stated that the authority to seal medical stores lies with the District Health Officers (DHOs). Health secretary informed the PAC that the Quality Control Board of the department gives approval for lodging FIRs against those found selling unregistered and spurious medicines, and the board has been made fully functional. The PAC ordered the sealing of medical stores found selling substandard and unregistered medicines and cancellation of their licences. The PAC also directed the department to intensify the crackdown against such medicines across Sindh. Furthermore, the PAC ordered an inquiry into the performance of drug inspectors across the province. The officials of the health department failed to provide audit records worth Rs6 billion, to which PAC expressed displeasure and directed the records be provided within two months.
Business Recorder
27-04-2025
- Health
- Business Recorder
UN team applauds community initiatives at Thar Block II
KARACHI: A high-level United Nations delegation, comprising James Roberts Okoth, Senior Programme Manager, FAO and led by MPA Qasim Siraj Soomro, visited Thar Block II and appreciated community development initiatives that have improved the lives of Tharis. The delegation, comprising officials from FAO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, UNRCO, WFP, and WHO, was briefed by the Thar Foundation's team and taken on a tour of key project sites. The delegation visited the model village of New Senhri Dars, where they engaged with students at one of the 25 schools established by Thar Foundation. With over 5,000 students currently enrolled in these school units, they acknowledged the crucial role of such an education network in improving literacy across the region. The UN officials also administered polio drops to children at the Thar Foundation Hospital in Islamkot. The UN team further toured a clean drinking water RO plant and a veterinary camp, where they also observed livestock vaccinations and de-worming efforts. James Roberts Okoth from FAO, expressed interest in collaborating with Thar Foundation to support livestock breeding and promote agricultural innovation in the region. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Officers occupy women's hostels
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly has ordered the immediate dispossession of the women's hostels occupied by government officials, including DIGs, DC, and education officers. The Women Development Department (WDD) has set up 11 hostels for working women in different districts of the province. However, the government officials have reportedly set up their offices in these hostels. The issue was raised during a PAC meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Nisar Khuhro and attended by PAC member Qasim Siraj Soomro, WDD Secretary Abdul Rasheed Zardari, and relevant departmental officials. The committee was reviewing audit objections related to the WDD's fiscal expenditures for the years 2019 and 2020, during which the matter of unauthorised office occupations in women's hostels came up for discussion. The WDD secretary informed the PAC that despite the hostels being intended for the accommodation of working women, various officials, including Sukkur's SC, have established their offices in these facilities. The DC's office has been set up in the Women Development Complex in Sukkur, while a DIG has occupied a women's hostel in Nawabshah. Similar encroachments have been reported in other districts. The PAC chairman, taking serious notice of these violations, ordered the immediate removal of all unauthorised offices and officials from the women's hostels across Sindh. He stressed the importance of restoring control of these facilities to the Women Development Department for their intended purpose. Further scrutiny by the PAC revealed concerns over the expenditure of Rs273 million on the Working Women Hostel in Shaheed Benazirabad, the Women Development Complex in Sukkur, and various other women's development projects. The committee also called for an investigation into the acquisition of land for the Women's Complex in Sukkur, questioning why private land was purchased instead of acquiring government land, which led to an additional cost of Rs210 million for its construction.
