ISLAMABAD: According to government sources, Pakistan plans to implement a statewide Pharma Track and Trace System this year as a significant step toward getting rid of fake and inferior medications.

According to sources, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has set October 9 as the deadline for requiring medicine packaging to have a 2D barcode and serialisation system.

All pharmaceutical makers and importers must print a distinct 2D barcode and serialisation information on each medication package in accordance with the new standards. Pharmaceutical products for humans and animals will be covered under the system.

The track and trace system will be implemented nationwide under the direction of DRAP. The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), Pakistan Veterinary Pharmaceutical Association (PVPA), Pharma Bureau, Pakistan Chemists and Druggists Association, provincial directors general of drug control, and chief drug inspectors have all received official notifications from the authority, which has also issued directives to pharmaceutical companies.

According to sources, pharmaceutical businesses have been directed to make all required preparations before the October 9 deadline in order to guarantee adherence to the new regulations.

The Pharma Track and Trace System has already been approved by the federal cabinet through modifications to the Drugs Labelling and Packing Rules, 1978.

By scanning the 2D barcode on the box, customers will be able to confirm the legitimacy of medications once the system is up and running. Important product details, such as the medication’s official price, dosage guidelines, and expiration date, will also be accessible through the digital verification process.

By enhancing traceability and assisting in the detection of fake and inferior medications before they are consumed, officials anticipate that the new system will greatly strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Sources claim that prior to the statewide launch, DRAP has already finished consultations with important parties.

On Monday, the most potent particle accelerator in the world will cease operations for a four-year renovation that would significantly increase its collision capacity and the possibility of solving dark matter, one of the universe’s greatest mysteries.

The most well-known usage of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27-kilometer circular tunnel that smashes protons in the center of Europe’s physics facility CERN near Geneva, was to demonstrate the existence of the Higgs boson, also known as “the God particle.”

Superconducting magnets and accelerating structures in the tunnel, which is located approximately 100 meters below the French-Swiss border, drive particles to extremely high energy and then collide them at incredible speeds.

However, operations will cease on Monday when the remarkable apparatus is upgraded to significantly boost the accuracy and force of particle collisions.

After it is finished, the upgraded particle smasher, which will be known as the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), is expected to start operating in June 2030 and run for roughly ten years.There are a lot of discoveries to come.This is a crucial time. We will be starting a new phase on Monday,” Markus Zerlauth, the head of the HL-LHC project, told reporters.Many physics questions remain unanswered. Numerous discoveries yet to be made.

In comparison to the LHC, the objective is to raise the “luminosity”—that is, the total number of collisions produced over a given period—by a factor of ten.

It is anticipated that the refurbishment will cost 1.2 billion Swiss francs ($1.5 billion) in total.

That will be paid by CERN membership fees, combined with in-kind contributions, amounting roughly 10-15 percent of the total, including from the United States, Japan, Canada and China.

1.2 kilometres of the 27-kilometer tunnel will need to have all of its components replaced as part of the refurbishment.

To boost the number of collisions, new superconducting magnets that can further concentrate the particle beams will be added.

Once operational, there will be between 140 and 200 collisions—up from the current 60—every time two particle packets collide inside the tunnel’s detectors.

According to Zerlauth, “the increased number of collisions will allow us to collect up to 100 times more data” overall.

There will be so many collisions—several billions every second—that it would be difficult to store all the information generated.

Artificial intelligence systems that can recognise the most promising incidents will be tasked with selecting which collisions should be recorded in real time.

However, Nedaa-Alexandra Asbah, a research physicist at CERN’s ATLAS experiment, which used the LHC to assist discover the Higgs Boson, argued that “AI does not replace physicists”It is an effective tool that enables us to utilise the data more effectively.

The Big Bang

The main goal of CERN is to increase basic knowledge, which is what the HL-LHC seeks to do.Filip Moortgat, CMS’s operations coordinator, stated, “We want to look for new particles.” The LHC detector is intended to investigate a variety of physics topics, such as the search for dark matter particles and other dimensions.

Only five percent of the cosmos, according to scientists, is made up of ordinary matter, which includes stars, gases, dust, planets, and everything on them.

Dark matter (27 percent) and dark energy (68 percent), two invisible substances that scientists have not yet been able to identify or directly study, are thought to make up the remainder.

The Higgs boson’s discovery in 2012 added a crucial piece to the jigsaw, expanding our knowledge of how particles get mass and earning physicists Peter Higgs and Francois Englert the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Once the upgrade is completed, CERN intends to greatly extend its understanding of how the “God particle” works, with the HL-HLC predicted to produce roughly 380 million Higgs bosons over its lifespan, compared to 55 million detected since LHC operations began in 2008.

Asbah stated that the lab’s primary goal is to create two Higgs Bosons at once, which would be a first, and observe their interaction.

This, she said, “may provide clues about how our Universe evolved shortly after the Big Bang”.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will see a major change in the awarding of its Player of the Match award with some players able to be presented with the prize without alcohol branding on it due to their religious views and cultural sensitivity.

The new policy will see athletes who ask for the accomodation receiving a unique unbranded trophy and a neutral backdrop which will not include beer sponsorship logos which normally appear during the award ceremony.

The adjustment came under the limelight after Morocco’s Ismael Saibari was selected Player of the Match for scoring the tournament’s fastest first goal against Scotland.

The presentation was made with FIFA World Cup logo instead of the typical beer sponsor branding, opting for a neutral “Superior Player of the Match” look.

The identical unbranded prize presentation has reportedly been handed to Egypt’s Emam Ashour, Jordan’s Ali Olwan, Iran’s Ramin Rezaeian, Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abu Nada and Ivory Coast’s Yan Diomande.

A FIFA spokesperson indicated they may supply an unbranded award and backdrop at the request of the athlete selected.

The policy also applies to players who are under the legal drinking age.

This happened after a similar incident at the 2018 FIFA World Cup when Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy drew international attention for refusing to participate in promotional activities associated with the alcohol sponsor of the tournament after being named Player of the Match.