A letter sent by Transparency International Pakistan to the
Prime Minister has revealed, along with documentary evidence, that regular laws
are being changed to favor favored individuals in a sensitive sector like
health, and that the prevailing Public Procurement Rules (PPRA) are being
violated in the purchase of medical equipment. The most worrying aspect of this
whole game is the effective attack on the autonomy of large medical
institutions through legal amendments, and this is being kept hidden from the
eyes of the media.
According to information received by Sources, secret
amendments are being introduced in the existing laws and by-laws under the
influence of the Ministry of Health, which are aimed at completely abolishing
the independent status of key and technical institutions like the Health
Services Academy (HSA) and the Islamabad Health Regulatory Authority (IHRA). After
these amendments, the control of these institutions will pass into the hands of
bureaucracy and favored individuals and their regulatory reputation will be
destroyed.
According to sources, the Ministry of Health is going to
repeat the same formula in all these medical departments that was recently
tried in the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (PNMC). In the Nursing
Council too, first by a presidential ordinance and then by an act passed by the
parliament in May 2026, the democratic management and autonomy of the
institution was abolished with a stroke of the pen and it was made a political
wing of the ministry and imposed on favored bureaucrats. Now, in the same way,
the bylaws of HSA and IHRA are being made into a wax nose.
The letter to the Prime Minister specifically mentions the
Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and reveals that rules and
regulations were set aside to reward a specific officer. Bypassing the
prevailing rules, the said preferred officer was given additional charge of
procurement (government procurement) and funds management, which is a conflict
of interest and a serious violation of administrative principles.
Transparency International Pakistan has also expressed
serious concerns over the process of purchasing medical equipment and medicines
in two major hospitals in the federal capital, Pakistan Institute of Medical
Sciences (PIMS) and Federal Government Polyclinic (FGPC). According to the
letter, the transparency standards of PPRA rules were not maintained in the procurement
for these hospitals, which has raised concerns about the non-transparent use of
public funds.
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