New administrative units inevitable: Mustafa Kamal

Says country cannot be governed under existing model

KARACHI:

Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has said Pakistan cannot be governed under the existing administrative model and that the creation of new administrative units has become inevitable.

Speaking at an event organised by the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) on Saturday, Kamal said he has reached the conclusion, after years of struggle, that raising complaints about Karachi has become futile as nobody seemed to care.

"The people of Karachi earn and contribute, yet they still have to beg the federal government for their rights," he said, adding that the federal bureaucracy in Islamabad was displeased with the presence of Karachiites.

"I honestly believe the existing government system cannot work. The longer we delay the creation of new administrative units, the greater the damage will be," he said, adding that the issue was now being taken seriously, which was why opponents had adopted a harsher tone.

The federal minister said pharmaceutical companies previously had to pay hefty bribes to register medicines with Drap. Under the new system, every document was processed automatically.

He said barcodes had been introduced for 86,000 branded products manufactured by 650 pharmaceutical companies, while the ministry's database now contained information on 86,000 medicines.