ISLAMABAD - Following the Supreme Court's directives to the Punjab government to withdraw the suspension order of some senior doctors of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) Lahore, the Young Doctors Association (YDA) ended the strikeon Friday.
During the proceedings of the suo moto notice taken on the death of under-treatment patients at the PIC on account of spurious drugs, a three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, directed the Punjab health secretary to resolve the matter and submit a report on the next date of hearing.
The court also summoned the president and secretary of the YDA on Monday (February 20) to its Lahore Registry and asked them to present their demands before the court.
Earlier, the Punjab health secretary informed the court that the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) had not supported the strike and he was in touch with the YDA office-bearers to find a solution of the problem.
The court observed that the doctors should not abandon patients, as it was a violation of fundamental rights.
Justice Saqib Nisar said: "The doctors come from a noble profession and we are sanguine they would not leave their ailing patients unattended."
Advocate General Ashtar Ausaf informed the bench that on account of the deaths of several patients,PIC Dr Medical SuperintendentJaffer Saleem, Deputy Medical Superintendent (Store) Dr Syed Ali Hassan, Store Keeper (Medicine)Zufiqar Ali, OPDPharmacist Muhammad Yousaf and Drug Testing Laboratory Director Abdus Salam Muftiwere suspended.
He, however, stated that the competent authority would withdraw the suspension order today (Friday) and also pass appropriate directives after initial probe and fixation of liability.
Attorney General Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq told the bench that the provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had passed resolutions in terms of Article 144 of Constitution, authorising the Parliament to pass a law constituting a drug regulatory agency, adding that a draft ordinance in this regard hadalready been prepared, which would be presented before the Parliament in due course.
The courtremarked that the prompt action taken by the prime minister and the three chief ministers pursuant to the court observation was appreciable.
FIA Director Legal Azam Khan submitted that the cases registered against the two pharmaceutical companies out of three had been cancelled, as it was found that they did not violated rules. However, a final report under Section 173 CrPC(Criminal Procedure Code) was being submitted against a manufacturer in the FIR No 7/2012 dated January 23at the FIA Lahore, he added.
He said a charge sheet had been prepared against the Alfalah Pharma and handed over for presentation to the drug court.
The Alfalah Pharma was found involved in the manufacturing of drugs with an invalid licence. The report further revealed that their tablet Alfagril, which was supplied to the PIC, had been declared substandard.
Later, the hearing was adjourned till February 20.