PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has removed Dr Sher Zaman Khan as the project director for the Treatment of Poor Cancer Patients initiative after receiving preliminary findings of an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the last year’s procurement of drugs and illegal changes to the tender process this year to favour a pharmaceutical company.

Dr Sadaf Chiragh, an associate professor of the oncology department at the Hayatabad Medical Complex, has been given the additional charge of that key office until further orders.

Sources in the health department told Dawn that the inquiry committee, comprising additional secretary of the health department Mansoor Arshad as the chairman and deputy secretary (drugs) Mohammad Ibrahim and assistant director (drugs) Fawad Alam as members, were currently probing the irregularity allegations on the formal complaints of some pharmaceutical firms and set to finish their work and produce its report.

They said that Dr Sher Zaman had been removed from the programme’s top slot in light of preliminary observations of the probe body.

Dr Sher Zaman rejects allegations against him, insists probe will clear him

The sources said that the committee had been tasked with identifying “facts surrounding the alleged illegal changes to standard bidding and procurement documents, including tenders and contract, and it was likely to fix responsibility on the PD for irregularities in the procurement process.

They said that the health department had put on hold the tendering process for the supply of Rs1 billion anti-cancer medicines for the financial year 2024-25 until the completion of the inquiry by Dec 13.

The sources said that the committee had examined all documents relating to medicine purchase for the free treatment of cancer patients at the Hayatabad Medical Complex for both financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 and wasn’t satisfied with last year’s procurement process and the current year’s tendering.

“There is a likelihood of the committee recommending disciplinary action against the PD who was assigned the additional charge of the programme late last year,” a source said.

The programme was launched in 2013 with the objective of providing free treatment to blood cancer patients. It was later extended to patients of all kinds of cancer, benefitting 10,000 patients.

The free treatment initiative was pioneered by Prof Abid Jameel, the then head of the HMC oncology department, who faced criticism after retirement.

Sources said that the new PD was criticised by the representatives of pharmaceutical firms for allegedly “bypassing” them to benefit a certain company.

They added that the Rs370 million contract was awarded to a firm through illegal changes to the bidding process last year, while the same act was being repeated, causing those companies to report it to the health department.

The sources said that many companies complained that the contract would be awarded to the same company in 2024-25, too, which prompted the department to form a committee.

They said that the pharmaceutical firms alleged that the rules were changed at the eleventh hour to keep them away from the entire tendering process and award the contract to a firm that won it last year.

When contacted, Dr Sher Zaman rejected corruption allegations against him as false.

“I am waiting for the outcome of the inquiry, which, I believe, won’t have anything against me,” he said.

The former project director insisted that the entire drug procurement exercise of the last and current years was transparent.

“As the project director, I tried my level best to provide effective drugs to patients,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2024