ISLAMABAD: Employees of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) continued their protests for the fifth consecutive day and vowed that their protest will continue until the government accepts their rightful demand of separating PIMS from the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU).
Medical and para-medical staff of PIMS on Friday continued their protest in favour of their demands due to which patients admitted in the hospital had been suffering the most.
PIMS Employees Union and gazetted and non-gazetted employees of the hospital participated in the protest due to which all out-patient departments of the hospital remained non-functional for the whole day. Patients faced immense hardships as several operations could also not be conducted.
The protesting employees said that they would not end their protest on verbal assurances until the government took tangible and practical steps to separate PIMS from the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU). The protesting employees said that they could not trust the government in this regard since it had backtracked on its promises in the past as well and the same problems were still unresolved.
Keeping in view the sensitivity of the situation, Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) State Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry met with Federal Law Minister Zahid Hamid in order to find out some solution to the fast deteriorating situation.
They both discussed the proposed bill for the separation of PIMS and SZABMU and the CADD ministry sent the proposed bill sent to the law ministry. As a result, the federal law minister directed the authorities concerned to send the summary to the prime minister.
Dr Fazal said that the separation of both the institutions would be completed soon and PIMS employees should end their protest and focus on performing their duties with dedication.
During the previous Pakistan People’s Party government, the parliament passed the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad Bill 2013 amid criticism and protest by the then opposition, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The bill was moved by the then minister for CADD Nazar Mohammad Gondal. Under the bill, PIMS was upgraded to a medical university and was empowered to confer degrees, diplomas, certificates and other academic distinctions.