ISLAMABAD: The health ministry has again gotten a new secretary, with the Establishment Division notifying Momin Agha as the new administrative head.
Agha, a BS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), is the ninth secretary to be appointed during the tenure of Health Minister Mustafa Kamal, who took the oath in February 2025.
According to a notification issued by the Establishment Division on Monday, available with Dawn, Agha “has been transferred and posted as secretary health with immediate effect and until further orders”.
A health expert, requesting anonymity, said eight officers had held the post during the past 19 months, with some changes involving repeat appointments.
According to him, Nadeem Mahboob remained till March 2025, Nasiruddin Mashood till May 2025, Waqarul Hasan till June 2025, Hamed Yaqoob till Feb 2026, Aslam Ghauri till August 2026, retired Captain Mahmood till Sept 2026, then Fakhre Alam joined, and later Mahboob got additional charge of the ministry for just one day before he was replaced with Agha.
When contacted earlier, Kamal had told Dawn that he had nothing to do with the changes of secretaries, as the Establishment Division was empowered to make such decisions.
Agha was removed as petroleum secretary in January 2026 and directed to report to the Establishment Division without a further posting.
He was replaced by Mirza Nasiruddin Ahmad, who was given the additional charge of the post on a look-after basis pending the appointment of a regular officer.
ISLAMABAD: Authorities on Tuesday denied reports of a widespread insulin shortage in the country, saying that only one brand was unavailable due to international supply constraints.
The clarification came after reports of a shortage across Pakistan emerged on social media.
The health ministry and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) maintained that alternatives for the unavailable brand remained available in the market.
“Insulin glulisine (Apidra, Sanofi) is currently unavailable due to international supply constraints. Alternate rapid-acting analogues within the same pharmacological class, specifically insulin aspart (NovoRapid, Novo Nordisk) and insulin lispro (Humalog, Eli Lilly), are readily available nationwide,” ministry spokesperson Sajid Shah said.
“All other primary insulin classes remain fully accessible across Pakistan,” he added.
He explained that insulin analogues — one of the two categories of medically approved insulin — include rapid-acting, long-acting and premixed formulations. The other category, human insulin, includes short-acting and intermediate-acting formulations.
The spokesperson added that patients who have been prescribed Apidra “should consult their attending healthcare provider prior to modifying their regimen”.
“Any transition to an alternative insulin formulation requires precise dose titration and tailored monitoring to maintain optimal glycaemic control,” he said.
In August 2025, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) raised alarm over “an unprecedented” and severe shortage of essential medicines across the country and warned that the crisis threatened the lives of millions of patients.
According to the association, at least 80 important medicines were unavailable, with 25 having no substitutes. These drugs included life-saving medications for diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease and psychiatric disorders.
In March 2026, PMA cautioned about the severe shortage of essential paediatric tuberculosis (TB) as well as cancer medications, warning that the humanitarian crisis was getting worse with each passing day, while calling for immediate intervention.
• Core committee meeting ends after two days without adopting any recommendations • Participants demand removal of NA opposition leader, dissolution of political committee, changes in decision-making procedures • Gohar says Achakzai will remain, opposes calls to form fact-finding committee
ISLAMABAD: The PTI core committee met for eight hours over the past two days but failed to decide on a future course of action, as several recommendations, including the formation of a fact-finding committee, put forward by the committee members could not be adopted due to the top leadership’s refusal to hold a vote.
A participant told Dawn that the huddle discussed why the protest march led by non-functional Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi failed, the role of Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai and the party’s decision-making process.
According to the PTI leader, during the discussion, it was claimed that there was a large number of workers in Charsadda, but that the number decreased in Mardan and there were no arrangements in Swabi.
Some participants alleged that Sohail Afridi was responsible for the failure, but others questioned the role of the PTI core and political committees and said why the core committee took seven days to call its meeting.
Some members said the party was not functioning as per its charter and a ‘supra committee’ of five members had been taking all decisions and suggested the dissolution of the political committee.
One of the members said Imran Khan had set up a 14-member apex committee as well as the core committee. The apex committee was later turned into the political committee and many more members were added before it was dissolved and a new one was formed, while the core committee’s meetings were eventually discontinued. Against this backdrop, the members suggested moving away from individualised decision-making in favour of collective decision-making.
“It was also suggested to establish a fact-finding committee, but Barrister Gohar said that they should not wash their dirty linen in public,” Dawn was informed.
“Azam Swati suggested holding the new party election and vacating the stay order but Barrister Gohar said that soon three years will have passed and after that new elections will be held,” a member told Dawn.
The participant told Dawn that members had shown concerns about why TTAP was being allowed to open party offices at district level and asked if PTI will contest the next election under the banner of TTAP, but Barrister Gohar denied any such development.
It was also suggested to reconstitute the negotiation committee and include political personalities, including PTI senators, in it.
Barrister Gohar Ali Khan later told reporters that Mr Achakzai will remain the undisputed leader of the opposition as he was appointed by Imran Khan. “We have no right to disagree with any decision of Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas. So their decisions will be implemented and they will negotiate on behalf of PTI,” he said.
Meeting with Imran
According to details, Mashal Yousafzai said that Barrister Saif from KP be appointed as focal person for meetings with Imran Khan in Adiala jail, believing that Mr Saif was capable of the job. Others, however, believed former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry could be a better option in that case. Some participants claimed that they might not be able to access Imran Khan because Senate elections were due in February next year and the authorities would not allow them to meet Mr Khan before the polls.
PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram, told Dawn that he can only say that during the meeting, detailed discussions were held. “The discussion will be helpful in collective decision-making for the future and it will also be helpful for policy-making,” he said.
To a question, Mr Akram said it was possible that a third meeting would be held to decide the way forward. But there was no information about the next date so far.
In a statement after the meeting, the PTI expressed concerns about the crackdown on the party and vowed to challenge it at all forums. The statement also demanded protection for the mines and minerals of the province.
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