KARACHI – Minister for Information and Planning & Development Gilgit Baltistan on Tuesday said increased political interference by Sindh Government is ruining the leading hospitals of the country.
After playing havoc with the top revenue-generating city of Karachi, the Sindh Government is after Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for political gains which will be not allowed, he said.
In a statement issued here today, Fateh Ullah Khan who is also Secretary-General Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Gilgit-Baltistan said that we will go to any extent to safeguard the rights of masses and doctors of Gilgit-Baltistan and other underdeveloped areas.
He said that provincial authorities are conspiring against doctors and postgraduate students hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan, AJK, erstwhile Fata and Pata and Balochistan but no one can stop people of these areas from getting jobs and training in JPMC.
Patients from all over Sindh are referred to JPMC, it also caters for the needs of millions of people including sixty thousand federal employees but the provincial government want total control over it to make it a place to induct incompetent to make it a bankrupt institution like Pakistan Steel Mills, he said.
Khan said that JPMC was among very few state-run hospitals which used to attract donations from the masses due to its quality of service but now political interference has tarnished its image and services which is also hitting the confidence of the masses.
The provincial government has shaken the foundations of this hospital and an independent audit will reveal unbelievable corruption, nepotism, malpractices, and mismanagement, he said.
There is rampant corruption in the JPMC and allied facilities and steps should be taken to improve transparency and bring to book doctors with political backing who have engaged in corrupt practices for years with no action taken against them, he observed.
He noted that corruption is an undeniable reality in the health sector and it is the most serious ethical crisis which is at its peak in Sindh which should be addressed without delay for the well-being of the masses and for social good.
Where will doctors and specialists go if the doors of JPMC were closed on them for petty political gains, he questioned?
