Punjab PAC orders probe into alleged irregularities in Rs145m medicines contract

LAHORE - The Punjab Assembly's Public Accounts Committee-I (PAC-I) has ordered an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the award of a medicines supply contract to a local pharmaceutical company for a government hospital, after an audit report flagged financial irregularities amounting to Rs145 million during the previous government's tenure. The committee took notice of the audit findings, which stated that the contract had allegedly been awarded in violation of the rules to a local pharmaceutical company that did not possess the requisite experience for supplying medicines. According to the audit report, the company took a year to supply medicines that were required to be delivered within three months, raising questions about its capacity to fulfil the contractual obligations and the circumstances in which it was awarded the contract.