ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has terminated a contract to supply meningitis and influenza vaccines to Umrah pilgrims and arrested three officials over alleged irregularities in its procurement, a senior health official said this week.

A high-level inquiry was ordered by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif into the awarding of a contract to a private company for the vaccines in July this year. Separately, seven pharmaceutical companies had approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC), alleging that procurement rules were violated in awarding the contract to the company. The case is still pending before the high court.

The matter concerns the Border Health Services, a federal government department operating under the national health ministry that is responsible for protecting the public’s health at the country’s entry points such as airports, seaports and land crossings.

A procurement committee for the vaccines was constituted by the health ministry on May 9. However, the BHS formed a separate committee on June 10 and proceeded with procuring the vaccines before subsequently approaching the health ministry for approval, according to the official, who spoke to Arab News on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press. The health ministry received the case for an ex-post facto approval on Sept. 16, the official said, adding that BHS was directed to comply with all required procurement procedures.

“Yes, the contract has been terminated and three officials have been arrested,” the official said on Thursday, adding that the BHS would issue a fresh tender for meningitis and influenza vaccines for travelers within a month.

“Some procedures were not followed [by the BHS] under the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and the Public Private Partnership Act.”

The official said BHS had its own annual budget of approximately Rs933 million [$3.37 million] and exercised administrative and financial authority over its procurement decisions. However, the ministry had instructed the department to observe the relevant rules and formalities.

The inquiry ordered by Sharif had also raised questions over vaccine prices. According to the information shared by the official, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) set a price of Rs1,356 [$4.90] for the meningitis vaccine. However, the procurement price was reportedly around Rs2,350 [$8.48].

The BHS issued a notification on Sept. 7, 2026, requiring Umrah pilgrims to get vaccinated. However, the requirement raised questions among travel operators over whether the Saudi government had made the vaccines mandatory for Umrah pilgrims or not.

“We have not received any request from Saudi authorities regarding mandatory meningitis vaccination for Umrah pilgrims,” Mushtaq Ahmad, chief executive officer of Waqar-e-Madina travel agency, told Arab News.

He said meningitis vaccination requirements for Hajj pilgrims are separate from Umrah.

According to a letter posted on Saudi Ministry of Health website, all individuals intending to perform Umrah are required to be vaccinated for meningitis before traveling to Saudi Arabia.

Meningitis is a potentially life-threatening disease that can progress rapidly, making vaccination an important public health measure to contain it.

The health ministry official said the ministry’s review had called for the procurement of vaccines to be conducted again with greater transparency. A fresh tender is expected to provide an opportunity to restart the process in accordance with the rules that are in place, he added.