–Any effort to roll back 18th Amendment by PTI govt will be strongly resisted, warns adviser to CM
–Murtaza Wahab says Sindh govt provided exemplary services at all three health centres
KARACHI: Adviser to Sindh CM on Information & Archives, Law and Anti-Corruption Establishment, Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that the provincial government has decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court regarding the ruling to handover three health centres of Karachi – Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), National Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases (NICVD) and National Institute of Child Health Diseases – to the federal government.
Addressing a press conference at the Sindh Assembly building on Saturday, Murtaza Wahab recalled that all these health units were devolved to the provincial government with the approval of 18th Amendment. He said that the devolution of the health sector to the provincial government was done in the best interest of the masses.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by the Sindh government regarding ownership dispute with the federal government over the three hospitals in Karachi. The decision was announced by former chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar during a hearing on the matter.
In 2016, the apex court had declared that the hospitals fall under the ownership of the federal government. However, the Sindh government had contended that the healthcare centres should be devolved to the provincial government in accordance with the 18th Amendment.
‘ATTACK ON 18TH AMENDMENT’:
Murtaza Wahab said that it was quite surprising that those who had been claiming the ownership of Karachi in the past are silent on the recent decision of the apex court.
The adviser vowed that any effort of the “failed and inefficient” government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to roll back the 18th Amendment in the guise of the recent decision would be strongly resisted by the people and Sindh government.
“The only purpose of the 18th amendment was to strengthen the federation by strengthening the provinces,” he stated.
He said that since the ineffective government of the PTI has nothing productive to perform for the masses, it keeps on indulging in such political tactics. He said that the PTI government neither has policy nor vision. “They don’t have any solution to their own created crises including inflation, load shedding of gas and electricity, water crises, health issues and economic crises,” he said.
The adviser said the Sindh government is confident that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will deliver an impartial decision over the JIT report on the fake bank accounts. He said that his party believes in the independence of the institutions rather than point scoring.
‘EXEMPLARY SERVICES’:
The adviser said that the Sindh government has been providing exemplary services to the masses through these three health units. “Not only the people of the province but the people from all over the county benefited through the services of these health units working under Sindh government,” the adviser added.
He mentioned that the total budget of the NICVD was a mere Rs 400 million at the time of devolution and now through the sincere and devoted efforts of the Sindh government, the targeted budget has become Rs 12 billion.
The adviser also discussed that at the time of devolution, the NICVD only existed in Karachi and after its upgradation, it was expanded to other districts of the province including Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Mithi, Larkana, Khairpur, Nawabshah, Sehwan and Sukkur.
Wahab mentioned that currently, eight chest pain units (CPUs) in different vicinities of Karachi are providing free of cost services to the people of Karachi. He said that basic function of these CPUs is to provide timely emergency service to the patients before they could be shifted to the hospitals safely. He stated that so far, 150,000 heart patients have been timely attended to by these units.
The adviser said at least 5,000 precious lives were saved by the timely services of the dedicated staff of these CPUs. “All of these centers are providing free of cost services to the people from all over the country,” he added. The adviser said that the Sindh government, in line with the vision of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, believes in quality healthcare services.
The adviser said that JPMC has also been revolutionised. “Both its working capacity as well as working condition has improved to a great extent,” he said.
He specifically mentioned that cyberknife treatment and cancer research are being conducted at the JPMC.
