SHC orders vacant positions to be filled at govt hospital in Shikarpur

Court rejects bail pleas of two govt employees in illegal allotment case

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) heard a case on Friday regarding lack of doctors and paramedical staff in Sindh. A report regarding the situation in Karachi, Shikarpur, Tharparkar, Badin, Thatta and Larkana among 11 other districts was presented.

According to the report, 79 positions for surgeons are vacant at the Shikarpur hospital. The budget of the district hospital in Shikarpur is Rs30 million.

The two-judge bench expressed its dissatisfaction over the lack of appointments and ordered the immediate hiring of doctors at the hospital.

The court ordered that the health secretary should ensure availability of doctors and surgeons at the hospital by transferring doctors from other districts until the appointment of permanent staff at hospital. How is the hospital running without any surgeons or doctors? asked the judges. Non-availability of an anaesthesia specialist at the hospital reflects that no operations are done at the hospital, they observed.

Petitioner Shahab Usto said two youngsters who were injured in an accident were brought to the hospital but due to non-availability of operation facilities, they passed away. The court demanded a detailed report on May 23 regarding the vacant positions at hospital from the health minister and secretary. The plea observed that numerous positions are vacant at hospitals run by the Sindh government.

Land allotment

Separately, the court rejected the bail plea of two government employees among five other accused in the illegal allotment of 275 acres of land in Malir. The hearing of the bail plea of authorised agent Ibrahim, Ghulam Haider, Hamid Zafar, Asad Ahmed and Jamal Akhtar including others in the illegal allotment case was heard by a two-member bench.

The bench rejected the bail plea of the accused and remarked that since there was evidence of their involvement in the illegal allotment, it could not approve the bail pleas.

The accused were not present in the court when the verdict was announced. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials have begun a search operation to arrest the accused. According to NAB, the former authorised agent and other public officers in connivance with private agents illegally allotted the land in Malir. The accused illegally transferred land into Zafar's name, causing a Rs259 million loss to the national exchequer. The main female suspect in the case has fled the country.

ECL issue

Separately, the SHC accepted a petition against Pakistan’s ambassador-designate to the United States Ali Jahangir Siddiqui and has set a hearing for May 31.

Siddiqui's lawyer submitted an application to change the hearing date. The court had scheduled the hearing for June 5, but the case will now be heard on May 31.

NAB has also filed a petition to place Siddiqui's name on the Exit Control List. According to the accountability watchdog, they fear Siddiqui might flee the country, hence his name should be put on the ECL. He is accused of selling shares higher than their market price, resulting in an approximate loss of Rs40 billion to state institutions and using a company by the name of Azgard Nine to do so. But without the State Bank's approval, the foreign exchange-related enquiry cannot take place.