The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company is the subject of a complaint from a Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) officer who claims that he is the owner of an unnamed pharmaceutical company, which creates a conflict of interest.
CEO Asim Rauf refuted the accusations and assured the complaint will face harsh punishment. Similar claims were made in the past against former DRAP CEOs, but none of them were proven.
In a letter, Dr. Mohammad Aleem Akhter, the deputy director of DRAP in Quetta, alleged that the CEO had been acting improperly ever since his 2002 appointment. The letter claimed that Rauf had broken study leave policies by enrolling in a Ph.D. programme in the United States after only two years on the job, short of the mandatory five years of service. He was also charged with operating M/s Zeta Pharmaceuticals in Lahore in violation of the DRAP Act of 2012.
The documents are attached, and they show that Rauf started the business in 2010 under his brother’s name before giving it to his father-in-law in 2018. The letter also stated that there was a second partner in the business, and that the property would pass to the CEO’s estate in the event of his passing.
The officer who made the complaint asked for an investigation to get rid of fraud and irregularities. The head of DRAP, however, asserted that the complainant had a history of making unfounded accusations and vowed to take legal action against him.
The Ministry of National Health Services’ Sajid Shah agreed that similar claims had been made in the past but that none had been verified. He emphasised the ministry’s commitment to transparency and rule compliance inside DRAP and expressed his belief that certain individuals both inside and outside of DRAP were exerting pressure on CEOs.
