Contaminated injections: SC disposes suo motu case against PINSTECH

Bench observes that news report was not based on relevant facts.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of a suo motu case regarding the alleged supply of cancer-diagnostic injections by the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH).

The three-judge bench of the apex court, after examining the committee’s report, observed that the news item was not based on ‘the correct appreciation of the relevant facts’.

“In any case, it has served a purpose i.e. on intervention of the Court, PINSTECH had the allegations inquired into and the findings referred to lend credibility to the exercise undertaken by PINSTECH. In the afore-referred circumstances, the proceedings have fructified and are being disposed of accordingly,” the bench, headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, said in its order.

The chief justice had earlier taken notice of a press report published on February 25 which claimed that PINSTECH was supplying cancer-diagnostic injections allegedly contaminated with undesirable radionuclide that could cause cancer instead of diagnosing it.

Following the report the Director General PINSTECH constituted a committee to investigate the allegations levelled and submit a report before the bench.

“The feedback from various end-user hospitals has been received and has confirmed that the product is re-checked and qualified by the user. The disqualified product (if any) is not used.”

The committee is satisfied that standard operating procedures for qualification and certifications were not violated and no evidence could be found of any pressure whatsoever from the high ups on the analysts or technicians to alter the quality control results, the report added.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2014.