ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan has taken suo moto notice of deaths due to medicines provided by PIC.
The
chief justice formed a bench led by Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jillani
which will start hearing from tomorrow. The notices have been issued to
attorney general, advocate general, provincial and federal health
secretaries in this regard.
Earlier, Justice Tassadduq Hussain
Jillani wrote a note to the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to
take notice of deaths due to medicines provided by Punjab Institute of
Cardiology in Punjab.
The unofficial death toll due to the
Pakistan Institute of Cardiology (PIC) fake medicine reached 112 on
Sunday as three more people lost their lives. The official death toll
remains 89, but Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, talking to the
media, had confirmed more than a 100 deaths.
The medicine
triggered an unknown disease that is said to get deposited in the bone
marrow and ultimately ends the body’s resistance. The generation of
white blood cells stops in the body and a severe chest infection also
takes place.
The symptoms of the disease include a change in complexion, low platelet count, vomiting blood and a severe chest infection.
The
Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) has formed an investigation team
which is probing the matter and has arrested the people allegedly
involved in the distribution of the medicine.
The FIA, on
Sunday, arrested MS PIC Dr Saleem Jaffar who was suspended on Friday,
while the Young Doctors Association announced of staging a protest by
closing down outdoor wards all across the province. Online
