Pakistan minister faces US court

A provincial health minister in northern Pakistan is facing 30 law suits in the United States in connection with the largest known outbreak there of Hepatitis C infection.

The health minister of Punjab, Dr Tahir Ali Javed, who practiced in America from 1989 to 2002, has been formally accused by the state of Nebraska in connection with the Hepatitis outbreak which has been linked to his former clinic.

Vowing to defend himself in the US court, he told the BBC that he did not receive any legal notice while he was in the United States and that the cases date back some four years.

Dr Javed said the matter has received undue attention in Pakistan for political reasons relating to his determination to regulate private medical practice in Punjab.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service