LAHORE: In a shocking incident, the eyesight of as many as 40 diabetes patients was affected after they received substandard injections in their eyeballs, it emerged on Saturday.

Talking to journalists, Pakistan Peoples Party leader Chaudhry Manzoor revealed that his brother and a friend’s eyesight was affected when they received the shot inside their eyes.

“The injections caused infections in their eyes and later vision problems,” he added.

The PPP leader said when he shifted his brother to a Lahore hospital, 18 other patients with the same condition were already admitted to the medical facility.

Confirming the report, Punjab caretaker Health Minister Dr Javed Akram told Geo News that at least 40 people were affected by the substandard injections. Taking notice of the incidents, he maintained that the entire stock of substandard injections had been removed from the market.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Health Department has constituted a committee headed by ophthalmologist Dr Asad Aslam to probe the matter. He was of the view that the injections affected the retinas of the diabetes patients.

Dr Aslam also confirmed that out of the 40, 12 patients have lost their eyesight permanently.