FIA gets physical remand of suspects in Rs2.445bn vaccine procurement case

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad judicial magistrate has granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) seven-day physical remand of three suspects in a case involving alleged irregularities in a multi-billion-rupee vaccine procurement contract.

The suspects — Dr Abid Hussain Shah, director of Border Health Services-Pakistan (BHS-P); Pardeep Kumar, former director of BHS-P and Dr Syed Ghulam Murtaza Shah, medical officer/FP IHR at BHS-P — were produced before Judicial Magistrate Shaista Kundi on Tuesday.

The FIA arrested Dr Abid Shah, former chief Dr Ghulam Murtaza and Dr Pardeep Kumar in Karachi over alleged irregularities in vaccine procurement for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.

Following a direct notice and inquiry ordered by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the FIA conducted an operation spanning Karachi and Islamabad to take the officials into custody and register a formal case against them

According to FIA documents, the case (FIR 61/2026), concerns alleged financial irregularities and procedural manipulation in the award of a five-year contract for the procurement of meningococcal (ACWY) and influenza vaccines to a single bidder, M/s Pharma Connect.

Investigators alleged that the contract was awarded without a market survey or comparative price assessment. The procurement rate was set at Rs3,475 per complete vaccination, compared with a combined maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs2,660 notified by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), according to the FIA documents.

The FIA has estimated that the price difference could result in projected excess expenditure of approximately Rs2.445 billion to the national exchequer over the contract period.

The agency further alleged that Pardeep Kumar superseded a previously notified procurement committee, assumed its chairmanship and approved bidding documents that lacked essential criteria.

Dr Syed Ghulam Murtaza Shah allegedly facilitated the selection of the contractor, while Dr Abid Hussain Shah subsequently submitted a note seeking ex-post facto ratification of the procurement proceedings, the FIA said.

Seeking 14 days of physical remand, the prosecution told the court that the suspects’ custody was necessary to recover original procurement records, investigate possible collusion and identify other individuals who may have facilitated the alleged irregularities.

The court granted seven days of physical remand and directed the FIA to produce the suspects again on October 28, 2026.