{"id":128648,"date":"2026-07-03T18:05:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T13:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=128648"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:05:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T13:05:58","slug":"pm-orders-ban-on-production-use-of-substandard-syringes-to-curb-spread-of-infectious-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/","title":{"rendered":"PM orders ban on production, use of substandard syringes to curb spread of infectious diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed a ban on the production and use of substandard syringes to prevent infectious diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The directives came as the premier chaired a meeting in Islamabad on measures taken to prevent the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office said (PMO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the statement, he said that action should be taken against individuals and hospitals found using illegal syringes or guilty of criminal negligence in preventing their use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He further ordered the formation of a special committee of experts to control infectious diseases, whose recommendations should be presented after consultations with the provinces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also directed the law ministry to propose amendments to the legal and regulatory framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFormulating a comprehensive strategy at the national level and ensuring its effective implementation is the solution to the problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shehbaz also instructed the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, in consultation with the medical devices industry, to permanently prevent the spread of infectious diseases through syringes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe support of international partners is crucial in efforts to prevent infectious diseases,\u201d he told the meeting attendees. PM Shehbaz also stressed on training medical staff according to international standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2012694\/pm-orders-ban-on-production-use-of-substandard-syringes-to-curb-spread-of-infectious-diseases#history-of-hiv-cases-in-hospitals\"><\/a>History of HIV cases in hospitals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, HIV outbreaks linked to healthcare facilities have surfaced in various cities of Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1992741\">reported&nbsp;<\/a>in April that three hospitals in Karachi recorded a dramatic increase in the number of paediatric HIV cases over the last nine months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same month, an expose by the&nbsp;<em>BBC<\/em>&nbsp;revealed that \u201cserious malpractices\u201d in the children\u2019s ward of a government hospital in Punjab\u2019s Taunsa continued months after the facility was linked to an outbreak of HIV among children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPunjab authorities promised a crackdown \u2013 but months later, secret filming by&nbsp;<em>BBC Eye Investigations<\/em>&nbsp;found that children\u2019s lives were still being put at risk,\u201d the British broadcaster said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the&nbsp;<em>BBC<\/em>&nbsp;investigation, at least 331 children tested positive for HIV between November 2024 and October 2025, with infections continuing even after official intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An HIV outbreak in Karachi\u2019s SITE Town was also&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1955518\">reported<\/a>&nbsp;in November last year, when more than 15 children were diagnosed with HIV in the densely populated neighbourhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the centre of the crisis was the Kulsum Bai Valika Social Security SITE Hospital, commonly known as Valika Hospital, where the children treated for different health complaints were diagnosed with HIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2019, an outbreak in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1488257\">Sindh\u2019s Ratodero<\/a>&nbsp;resulted in hundreds of children getting infected. As the matter was of great concern, the government requested the World Health Organisation (WHO) to investigate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A WHO-led team then reached Pakistan, whose key tasks included ascertaining the source of the outbreak and controlling it, providing technical expertise, particularly in areas of HIV testing, paediatric HIV treatment and family counselling, and ensuring adequate supplies of rapid diagnostic tests and anti-retroviral medicines for both adults and children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was later revealed that the repeated use of injections was the main reason for the outbreak.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed a ban on the production and use of substandard syringes to prevent infectious diseases. The directives came as the premier chaired a meeting in Islamabad on measures taken to prevent the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office said (PMO). According to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>PM orders ban on production, use of substandard syringes to curb spread of infectious diseases - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PM orders ban on production, use of substandard syringes to curb spread of infectious diseases - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed a ban on the production and use of substandard syringes to prevent infectious diseases. The directives came as the premier chaired a meeting in Islamabad on measures taken to prevent the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office said (PMO). According to the [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T13:05:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T13:05:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Untitled-design-22.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/\",\"name\":\"PM orders ban on production, use of substandard syringes to curb spread of infectious diseases - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Untitled-design-22.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T13:05:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-03T13:05:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Untitled-design-22.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Untitled-design-22.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"PM orders ban on production, use of substandard syringes to curb spread of infectious diseases\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"PM orders ban on production, use of substandard syringes to curb spread of infectious diseases - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128648\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"PM orders ban on production, use of substandard syringes to curb spread of infectious diseases - Nation","og_description":"ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed a ban on the production and use of substandard syringes to prevent infectious diseases. 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