KTH denies allegations against senior officers

Medical director is protected under the MTI Act and regulation.

ISLAMABAD: Days, after a senior medical officer wrote to the top anti-corruption watchdog to probe alleged illegal appointments and corruption at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, the institution, has refuted the allegations.

“The concerned medical officer is a civil servant and after the implementation of MTI Act 2015, civil servants working in the institution may be repatriated to their parent health department: like other civil servant medical officers, he was also placed at the disposal of DG health services, as directed by the board of governors (BoG),” said Farhad Khan, the senior media and protocol manager for the Medical Teaching Institute (MTI) at Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH).

“None of the BoG members holds a dual charge in the institution and are volunteers in their role as board members and not only are they not paid but also do not charge any reimbursement for travel or stay.”

Addressing the allegation of illegal appointments on key and senior positions, Farhad said, “the BoG has sought a legal opinion on this from our legal counsel at KTH and was advised that the law did not ask for these time-tenured posts to resign from their civil servant posts and the concerned matter is sub-judice in Peshawar High Court.”

“As far as the medical director is concerned he is fully protected under the MTI Act and regulation. He is an institutional employee.  He is providing teaching facilities to his undergraduate and postgraduate students and is available in the OPD and performs surgeries in his respective days which are on the record,” he said.

“There is no gender restriction in the hiring of a male nursing director and he has fulfilled all the required qualification which was advertised for the post,” Farhad said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2018.