K-P Assembly passes health authority bill

Opposition creates uproar to protest the use of force against doctors and paramedics

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday passed The Regional and District Health Authorities Bill.

The opposition benches, however, used it as an opportunity to condemn police brutality against doctors and paramedics protesting under the banner of Grand Health Alliance (GHA) in front of the assembly and at the Lady Reading Hospital and demanded that probe should be conducted on those who ordered the use of force and they should be held accountable .

The assembly session resumed on Friday under the chairmanship of Speaker K-P Assembly  Mushtaq Ghani .

During the session, assembly passed three bills including the Regional and District Authorities’ Bill, the Permanency of the Contractual and Daily Wage Employees of the Transport Department Bill and Women Inheritance Bill to give women due shares of their properties.

Under the regional and district health authorities a policy board to be formed under the chair of the provincial health minister and on regional level a regional authorities would be formed which would include ten senior and seasonal doctors and health minister would also chair the regional health authorities and search committee would also search for other members.

The bill further stipulated that district health authorities would be headed by the chief executives officers and their appointment to be carried out by the regional health authorities while provincial health minister would have the authority to dissolve and dismiss the established authority and reframe it.

The House also passed the KP Employees of Transport and Mass Transit Department (Regularization of Services) Bill, 2019 while the K-P Enforcement of Women's Property Right Bill, 2019 was tabled in the House.

In the second bill ad hoc employees from 1997 to 2014 in ministries of health and mass transit department are to be regularised and get permanent positions.

The K-P Enforcement of Women's Property Right Bill, 2019 tabled in the house proposed that if women lose their right to claim to inheritance, they could register their complaints with the provincial women Muhtasib and she could direct the DC and other relevant officer to address the complaints with a time period while any review could be filed with the authority within 45 days.

Ban on Taimur Saleem Jhagra

During the question and answer session the Speaker Mushtaq Ghani expressed his resentment over Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra’s absence who has not attended the last two sessions.

Ghani imposed a ban on his entry and added that if the minister does not attend the session he will resign the chair as he had to listen to the opposition tirade and jibes. Officials of various departments not attending the session to addresses the question.

In his remarks he has warned that if members don’t attend he has to direct the chief secretary to be in the house to query the session.

Opposition condemns health bill

The opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani disapproved the health authority bill saying they stand shoulder to shoulder with the doctors who were protesting against it. He and demanded that the comprehensive report should be filed in the use of force against the doctors.

“We condemn the uses of force against the doctor’s grand alliance and those who used force against them should be held accountable and opposition would raise their voice on the concerns of the Regional and District Health Authority Bill.”

K-P Health Minister Hisham Inamullah clarified to the house that neither he had directed the police to use force nor do they have any intention to privatise the health sectors and hospitals.

“We want people to have health facilities at their doorstep in their home districts. But the doctors are not ready to be transferred to their respective districts,” he said.

“We have directed no one to use force against the doctors, nor have orders for the stopping their protests right, As I am doctor too, I do not believe in such hypocrisy,” Hisham said. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2019.