KP CM reviews drug control performance, orders crackdown on fake medicines

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur Thursday chaired a meeting of the Health Department to review the performance of the Directorate of Drug Control and Pharmacy Services.

The meeting was attended by CM’s Advisor on Health Ehtesham Ali and senior officials of the department. Officials briefed the chief minister on the scope, objectives, financial and administrative affairs, regulatory framework, and recent performance of the directorate.

From January to June, the directorate carried out 6,815 inspections and tested 6,935 medicine samples. Of these, 214 were declared substandard, 84 unregistered, 69 fake, and 78 misbranded. Authorities sealed 70 medical stores, registered FIRs against 23 cases, and confiscated 944 illegal items.

During the same period, 1,198 cases were filed in the drug court, 347 decided, and fines of over Rs6.1 million imposed. More than 1,000 samples were tested monthly in drug testing laboratories.

Officials further informed the meeting that reforms were underway, including aligning drug testing laboratories with World Health Organization (WHO) standards, operating two mobile drug testing labs, and planning five more. Drug testing laboratories were also being set up in Swat and Dera Ismail Khan, while inspectors were submitting monthly progress reports through an online portal.

Chief Minister Gandapur stressed the importance of strengthening the institution to meet modern requirements, saying, “Ensuring the availability of quality medicines and medical equipment is vital. Providing reliable healthcare facilities to the people is our top priority and no compromise will be made.”

He directed authorities to keep strict vigilance on fake and substandard medicines across the province and ordered more effective measures to curb the menace.