Pakistan: Financial irregularities, missing medical supplies reported from Balochistan hospital
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Balochistan Assembly has publicly spoken out against the provincial Health Department after an audit found major money‑and‑medical‑supply problems at Sandeman Provincial Hospital in Quetta. The report, released on Monday, lists a number of irregularities that the PAC says the health officials have ignored for months.
The PAC, chaired by Asghar Ali Tareen, reviewed an audit that uncovered an illegal purchase of medicines worth 30.02 million Pakistani rupees (PKR). It also found that 22.83 million PKR worth of drugs disappeared from the hospital’s stock, and that overpriced oxygen cylinders blew the department a 1.34 million PKR loss. According to the audit, the hospital has no stock registers or inspection reports to show how the medicines were managed or when the oxygen cylinders were bought.
Health Department officials say that Health Tech Quetta, an authorised distributor of Frontier Dactrol Ltd, handled the medicines and payments. But Tareen said that the explanation didn’t add up. “Eight months have passed since the PAC issued directives, yet there has been no result,” he said. He told the department that any officer refusing to supply the required records would be removed. If the directives keep being ignored, the PAC will file a complaint and ask for a fresh report.
PAC member Safia Bibi stressed that all officers must answer the committee’s questions. Haji Wali Muhammad Noorzai warned that the department could face serious sanctions if it fails to comply. Noorzai also highlighted breaches of the Balochistan Public Procurement Rules and demanded a side‑by‑side price comparison of the companies involved. The committee said it will take hard action if any pricing discrepancies are found.
The audit also showed that a former pharmacist at Civil Hospital Quetta failed to record data for the 2019‑20 fiscal year because of illness. The missing records caused major data gaps and the pharmacist has not yet supplied a complete log, worrying PAC members.
To fix the problems, the PAC ordered the Health Secretary to launch a formal inquiry within a week and to discipline any officials found negligent. The committee also wanted the department to investigate how oxygen cylinders were bought at a huge premium during the COVID‑19 pandemic—paying almost 75 times the contract price (around 40,000 PKR versus 537 PKR). The committee noted that all quotations were written in the same hand, raising concerns about transparency and possible collusion.
The PAC’s tough stance underscores the need for accountability in Balochistan’s health system. The department now faces a critical deadline to resolve the audit’s findings and demonstrate it will prevent similar financial abuses going forward.
Source: ianslive
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
