Senator Dr Karim Khwaja, who is also the President of Peoples Doctors Forum (PDF), has said that the pilferage of medicines and embezzlement of funds allocated for health services was intolerable and the officers involved in this crime would be taken to task.
Addressing a press conference here Sunday the Senator said that the government spends billions of rupees to procure medicines for free distribution among the patients at government hospitals.
“The government provides funds to all the district health officers in the regard without any let up and to the measure of their requirements,” he added. Khwaja said despite such efforts by the provincial and the federal government if pilferage and embezzlement was happening than an inquiry would be conducted.
The Senator said the Pakistan Peoples Party government was very much concerned with the health of the people and in that regard it was constructing new hospitals in eight districts of Sindh.
Each of those hospitals would be completed by end of June and would have 200 beds and would offer modern health facilities, he added. The Doctors Forum leader informed that the remaining districts of Sindh would be covered in the next financial budgets for the building of new hospitals.
He further said the government was also building 400-bed hospitals in Mirpurkhas and Larkana districts. The Senator said that President Asif Ali Zardari has taken notice of the police raid during which famous neurosurgeon Dr. Aftab Ahmed Qureshi was killed while in captivity of the suspected kidnappers. He added that a high level investigation was already underway in the case.
In reply to a question, the Senator said that Trauma Center in Hyderabad was built on an inappropriate location by the previous district government.
“The provincial government had nothing to do with that project as it was constructed by the district government,” he added. However, he said to activate the trauma center the ministry of Local Government has been approached so that the people of the city could avail its services.
General Secretary of Peoples Doctors Forum Dr. Abdul Razzaq Shaikh, the local leaders of PPP Aftab Khanzada, Dr Tehseen Shaikh and others were also present on the occasion.
‘PML-F has no reservations over Zulfikarabad Project’: Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister Imtiaz Shaikh, who is also the General Secretary of Pakistan Muslim League (Functional), has said the PML-F has no reservations over the Zulfikarabad project.
“However, the government should still try to address the concerns of civil society and the Sindhi nationalist leaders as it goes ahead with the project,” he said while talking to the media during a ceremony organised at a government school here Sunday evening. He said the project was aimed to develop a new city on the barren and swampy land on the seashores of Thatta district.
Talking about the local government and general elections, he said the PML-F was prepared for the elections. “This is an election year and we are ready for the local government and the general elections,” he added.
In reply to a question he said his party was in contact with the main ruling party, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) over the seat adjustment issue. He added that the party would also approach the other allies in that regard.
