CHARSADDA: The Anti-Corruption Department has initiated an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the provision of medicines under the Sehat Sahulat Programme at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Charsadda.
The allegations also included the award of contracts to a preferred firm and extension of the contract in violation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (KPPRA) rules.
According to official documents, the investigation covered the period from June 2024 to June 2025 and focused on the tendering process for the supply of medicines, the alleged provision of substandard drugs to patients, and financial irregularities amounting to millions of rupees.
The Anti-Corruption Department stated that in June 2024, a firm offering a 22 percent lower rate was ignored, while the contract was awarded to another firm offering only an 8 percent reduction, causing financial loss to the provincial exchequer.
The selected firm had secured the contract on the condition of supplying high-quality, multinational medicines; however, patients were allegedly provided with substandard drugs. Authorities said that relevant records had been obtained.
Documents revealed that the contract, originally set to expire in June 2025, was extended for an additional year until June 2026 by then acting Medical Superintendent Dr Javed Iqbal through Order No. 3250 DHQ dated April 16, 2025. The extension was reportedly granted without convening a meeting of the Health Management Committee and in violation of KPPRA rules.
The inquiry also included alleged financial irregularities involving payments worth millions of rupees made to the firm during the same period. The incumbent, Medical Superintendent, Dr Abdul Qadoos said that after assuming charge, he cancelled the one-year extension through Order No. 4912 dated June 21, 2025, limiting the contract period to two and a half months until a transparent tendering process could be completed.
He added that the tender process was near completion when the firm obtained a stay order from a court, halting the issuance of a new contract. “The tendering process will resume as soon as the stay order is vacated,” he said, adding that all relevant authorities, including the Director General Health, had been informed in writing.
Meanwhile, former medical superintendent and current Head of the ENT Department, Dr Javed Iqbal, rejected the allegations, stating that the extension was granted in accordance with legal requirements. He claimed that the present hospital administration had removed the Health Management Committee meeting minutes from the official file to defame him.Dr Iqbal said that he served as acting Medical Superintendent for only one month and 12 days and did not authorize any illegal payments during his tenure.
