Islamabad: Days after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested three top officials of the Border Health Services-Pakistan (BHS-P) over alleged irregularities in the procurement of vaccines for Umrah pilgrims, the federal health ministry on Thursday launched a probe into the sale of meningitis vaccine to the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, after it was learnt that the vaccine was supplied at almost double the price approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP).
In a notification, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination constituted an inquiry committee to probe the supply of meningitis vaccines to MoRA from 2022 to 2026 and the role played by DRAP.
The committee is headed by an Additional Secretary and its members are the Vice Chancellor of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad, the Director General (Health) of the ministry, and a representative of the Intelligence Bureau. The Joint Secretary (Hospitals) of the ministry is the member/secretary. It has been asked to submit its report by October 29, giving it seven days.
Under its terms of reference, the committee will determine the market price of vaccines supplied to MoRA during 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 by M/s Sindh Medical Store (Pvt) Ltd and M/s Lab Diagnostic System (Pvt) Ltd, and establish whether the companies charged more than the prices fixed or approved by DRAP.
It will also examine how the price of the meningitis vaccine, fixed by DRAP at Rs1,356, rose to Rs2,555 in 2025 in supplies to MoRA, and determine the circumstances and justification, if any, for the increase. That is roughly 88 per cent above the approved price.
The panel has further been tasked with fixing responsibility for the failure to monitor, verify or enforce the approved prices, including whether the lapse resulted from negligence on the part of DRAP as an institution or its officers. It will also identify regulatory, administrative and institutional gaps that allowed the alleged overcharging to continue, recommend measures to prevent recurrence, and name the departments and officers responsible.
“The approved price of the meningococcal vaccine by DRAP is Rs1,356, but the Ministry of Religious Affairs was supplied this vaccine at double the approved price during 2022 to 2026,” a senior health ministry official said. He said DRAP was responsible for ensuring that companies followed and respected its approved prices, but it failed to fulfil that responsibility. The committee, he added, would probe the matter and fix responsibility.
The inquiry follows the arrest of BHS-P Director Dr Abid Hussain Shah, former director Dr Pardeep Kumar and medical officer Dr Syed Ghulam Murtaza Shah. A magistrate in Islamabad on October 21 granted the FIA seven days’ physical remand and ordered that they be produced again on October 28.
According to FIR No. 61/2026, the FIA alleges that a five-year contract for meningococcal ACWY and influenza vaccines for pilgrims was awarded to M/s Pharma Connect without a market survey or comparative price assessment. The procurement price was fixed at Rs3,475 per vaccination package, against a combined maximum retail price of Rs2,660 notified by DRAP.
The FIA estimates that the Rs815 difference per vaccination could mean about Rs2.445 billion in excess expenditure over five years. This is an investigators’ projection, not a loss established by a court.
The vaccine supplied to MoRA, the companies named and the period covered are distinct from the contract at the centre of the FIA case, though both concern vaccines for pilgrims and the enforcement of DRAP-notified prices.
The controversy had earlier prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to constitute a five-member committee, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, to examine the procurement process. Separately, seven pharmaceutical companies have challenged the tender before the Islamabad High Court.
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