36 people have died of heart problems at aLahorehospital, due to defective drugs.
Doctors blamed one or more of the four drugs given to cardiac patients at the government-owned Punjab Institute of Cardiology.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have arrested the owners of three local pharmaceutical firms that supplied the drugs to the institute.
The drugs, in a market that is intensely competitive, were reportedly given to the firms for free.
Dozens of patients and their families were gathered outside the hospital to protest the deaths.
A senior official told the Times of India, “Seeing the non-seriousness of the provincial government in taking action against the persons responsible for the deaths, the federal government directed the FIA to go in for direct action.”
The official also told the publication that the FIA would expose doctors and drug inspectors who were responsible for lapses.
According to their statement, the Pakistan Medical Association have urged the government to purchase life-saving drugs from alternative suppliers.
