Selling of newborns: Details of staff involved not shared with health dept

Health DG asked to meet employees today to discuss matter

PESHAWAR: Although the police have arrested a gang of health workers involved in selling infants from maternity homes, the health department has not been provided too many details about the group. So far, only a few names of those who were involved have been shared.

However, there is little that can be ascertained from this information. Officials in the health ministry told The Express Tribune on Sunday the police claim they have arrested a gang, including nurses and doctors in the provincial capital, who were allegedly involved in selling newborns from maternity homes. They said the police arrested the gang members.

“The investigation was carried out and we are being asked what the health ministry was doing,” a senior health official said. He requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media about the matter. “How can you terminate services of a government employee or even issue a show-cause notice on the basis of allegations?”



He said the police were repeatedly contacted about the matter. However, they had only shared a few details, including names. This has added to the problems of the health department.

The official added there were three or four health employees with the same name. However, the health DG had been asked to meet employees on August 29 (today).

Meanwhile, Health DG Dr Parvez Kamal could not be reached despite repeated attempts to contact him for an official version. On the other hand, the police said the relevant officials involved in probing the matter will be directed to share details with the health ministry.

“This is a serious matter,” SSP Operations Abbas Majeed Marwat told The Express Tribune. “I will ask the relevant officials to discuss this with the health ministry so that the ministry can initiate action against the employees involved.” Earlier on August 12, the police arrested a gang of five women, who were involved in the kidnapping and selling of newborns from hospitals and maternity homes across Peshawar.

“The gang comprised female doctors and nurses working in various government hospitals,” stated an official statement released by the police on the same day. It added police officials managed to find a newborn, while the gang had already kidnapped and sold nine newborns.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2016.