Shahbaz responsible for deaths by spurious drugs: Imtiaz

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab president Imtiaz Safdar Warraich on Saturday said hundreds of people have died due to spurious medicines in Punjab but the chief minister was worried about security of a US national.

Talking to a private news channel, he said that responsibility of the deaths due to spurious drugs lies with the Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif because he also holds the charge of health ministry.

He said that Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) came to action as Punjab government did not take any action on the issue.

He said that the chief minister should get actress Sapna and Shahbaz Taseer recovered instead of taking the responsibility of a US national Mansoor Ijaz.

Warraich said that the chief minister was responsible for the security of people of Punjab and not of Mansoor Ijaz.

He blamed the chief minister for converting non-issues into issues.

He said that President Asif Ali Zardari was elected with two-thirds majority but Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was not used to accept a democratic president in the country and it likes military dictators like Gen. Ziaul Haq and Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

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Strike in parts of Sindh over 20th Constitutional Amendment Bill

KARACHI: A shutter-down strike was being observed in different cities in the Sindh province on Saturday over the 20th Constitutional Amendment Bill, FTNews reported.

The strike was being observed on the appeal of the Sindh Bachao Committee.

Both big and small business centres stayed shut and public transport was not available in the cities of Hyderabad, Sukkur and Jamshoro.

The strike was also being observed in the regions of Khairpur, Dadu, Jacobabad, Sanghar and Thatta.

The 20th Constitutional Amendment Bill was tabled in the National Assembly by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and it envisages the division of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for carving out a Seraiki and a Hazara province.

Nationalist parties have alleged that the MQM had a hidden agenda behind the bill: division of Sindh.

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Five injured in Karachi hand grenade attack

KARACHI: Five people were injured in a hand grenade attack on a hardware store in the Liaquatabad area of Karachi on Saturday.

FTNews correspondent reported that unidentified men on a motorcycle had hurled a hand grenade at Green Hardware Shop in Liaquatabad No 2. The shop has reportedly been targeted by extortionists in the past.

The injured have been moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

He also reported that extortionists have been active in the area recently and have also opened fire at the stores. He said there is no confirmation if this incident is linked to them.

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Posted in: REGIONAL

Shahbaz pledges action in spurious drugs case

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has pledged to the nation that strict accountability would be carried out against those responsible for the dozens of deaths that occurred due to the counterfeit medicine given out at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), FTNews reported.

Speaking to media representatives after inaugurating a polio campaign in Lahore, Sharif said that supplying free drugs to the patients did not mean that those doing so could play with lives.

Pointing his guns towards the federal government, the chief minister urged the media to also hold accountable “the thieves sitting in Islamabad”.

He blamed the rulers for the prevailing energy crisis in the country and said that coal and other resources could have been used to deal with the issue.

Sharif moreover questioned as to how could the rulers who failed to deliver in four years do something worthwhile during the next six months.

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Another doctor falls pray to target killing in Karachi

KARACHI: Unknown gunmen killed a shia doctor in Gulberg neighbourhood on Saturday, FTNews reported.

According to Gulberg police, unknown gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on 55 years old Doctor Jaffer Mohsin when he came out of his house in the morning.

The miscreants fled away after killing Mohsin who died on the spot.

Meanwhile, at least four people were injured when unidentified men threw a hand grenade at a hardware shop in Liaquatabad, police officials said.

The shop was located in Liaquatabad No. 2 area and the grenade had been lobbed inside the shop.

Local shopkeepers said extortionists had been continuously threatening them for refusing to pay the ‘protection money.’

The injured were shifted to a hospital for treatment.

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Posted in: REGIONAL