Punjab’s fake doctors crackdown explodes: 998 centres sealed in 6 weeks

LAHORE: In one of Punjab’s most aggressive public health enforcement drives in recent months, the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has sealed 998 illegal treatment centres in just six weeks, exposing the alarming scale of unqualified medical practice operating across the province. The sweeping crackdown has reignited a national conversation around patient safety, fake doctors, and the silent dangers of unregulated healthcare that often thrive in both cities and remote towns.

This is not just another enforcement statistic—it is a stark warning about how easily vulnerable patients can fall into the hands of untrained and unlicensed practitioners. According to the PHC’s Anti-Quackery Department, enforcement teams conducted 3,860 field visits to suspected outlets, while 2,286 premises were marked for continued surveillance to ensure illegal activity does not resume under new disguises. Another 346 centres were found already shut, relocated, or converted into other businesses, a sign that pressure from regulators is forcing rapid underground shifts.

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The scale of the operation reveals how deeply the issue is embedded across Punjab’s healthcare landscape. Lahore emerged as the biggest hotspot, with 645 centres visited and 217 sealed, followed by Faisalabad (62 closures) and Khanewal (52 closures). Significant action was also recorded in Sheikhupura, Kasur, Multan, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Pakpattan, Sargodha, and Sialkot, with multiple districts reporting both closures and long-term surveillance actions.

The wider public health concern goes beyond the number of sealed premises. Illegal clinics often operate without sterilization standards, proper diagnoses, emergency preparedness, or qualified prescriptions—turning routine illness into a life-threatening risk. In many cases, patients are unaware they are being treated by unregistered individuals until complications appear, by which point preventable harm may already have occurred.

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Dr. Muhammad Saqib Aziz, Chief Executive Officer of the Punjab Healthcare Commission said the latest action is part of a sustained provincial strategy to eliminate quackery and restore trust in safe medical care. He stressed that all marked premises will be revisited to prevent quacks from reopening and urged citizens to seek treatment only from qualified physicians working in PHC-registered and licensed healthcare establishments.

The long-term numbers make the story even more significant. PHC says it has now sealed 69,045 illegal centres after 246,529 visits, while more than 30,600 quacks have abandoned illegal practice altogether.

For Punjab’s patients, this crackdown is more than a law-and-order move—it is a direct fight for safer diagnoses, genuine prescriptions, and the right to evidence-based care. The bigger question now is whether this enforcement momentum can finally break the cycle of quackery that continues to prey on affordability gaps, rural access barriers, and public unawareness.

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