Provincial Industries and Trade Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal met with importers of surgical equipments and manufacturers at Civil Secretariat today in which matters pertaining to preventive masks, gloves, availability of surgical equipments at local level as well as possibilities of their preparation came under review. Special Secretary Health Muhammad Ajmal Bhatti, Additional Secretary Industries and Trade Ashar Zaidi, officers of Industries and Trade as well as Health Department were also present on this occasion. Muhammad Abbas from Biopharma International, Amir Khan from Care Scientific, Mumtaz Khan from DESTO, Ibrahim Naeem from MAGMA, representatives of ANAX private limited and others were also present during the meeting. Mian Aslam Iqbal while talking on this occasion said that we will have to remain vigilant and fully prepared in order to cope up with all sorts of untoward circumstances and provision of surgical instruments will have to be ensured at every cost. Surgical instruments are dire need of health professionals so that people should not run after them, he stated. Aslam Iqbal further directed that effectiveness and capability for preparing surgical instruments at local level will be reviewed. Local industry will be encouraged for preparing surgical equipments at local level, he maintained. We will also write a letter to the federal government to reduce import duty on surgical instruments. An affective awareness campaign has also been launched with regard to adopting preventive measures for safeguarding people from the hazards of coronavirus, he concluded.
