Islamabad: Pakistan may set up a judicial panel to probe over 100 deaths due to spurious drugs in its Punjab province.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday hinted at setting up the judicial commission to probe the spurious drugs case, which claimed lives of around 104 people in Punjab.
"I will discuss the matter with the top leadership and suggest setting up a judicial commission to bring the real culprits to task. I will recommend including a representative of media as member in the commission," Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Malik as saying.
He said that directives have been given to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest whosoever are involved in the fake drugs case.
He criticised the Punjab government that it could not check the substandard medicines even though it has around 500 drugs inspectors.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari earlier this week sought a report into the deaths at a Lahore heart hospital.
He expressed concern and called for a report from the Health Ministry.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that at least 100 patients at the heart institute have died from reactions to spurious drugs.
Sharif said his team was investigating the drug scandal in Lahore's Punjab Institute of Cardiology.
The government has sent samples of the medicines to France and Britain for analysis.
IANS
First Published: Saturday, January 28, 2012, 13:13