Accusing the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh government of embezzling funds of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentary leader in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh claimed on Tuesday that the health facility had turned into a "den of corruption and mismanagement."
The NICVD is one of the three hospitals for whose control the Centre and the Sindh government have been vying.
Speaking to the media outside the Sindh Assembly, Sheikh said, "The corruption mafia in Sindh is now devouring funds [released] for heart patients, as evident from rampant corruption at the NICVD and the poor state of affairs at the facility."
"The Sindh government always counts the NICVD as one of its achievements, which, in fact, has now become a den of corruption and mismanagement," he said.
Sheikh claimed PPP leader Naveed Qamar had "virtually handed over the NICVD to his brother, Nadeem Qamar, on a contract." He added that a report of the auditor general had unearthed discrepancies in NICVD funds between 2019 and 2020.
"A transfer of Rs270.61 million under the head of PCI allowance is dubious, and so is the transfer of Rs1.91 million under the head of satellite visit allowance," said Sheikh, elaborating on the discrepancies in the report. He alleged that Rs142.94 million was embezzled under the head of professional fee, another Rs0.71 million under the head of rehabilitation allowance and Rs136.92 million under the head of non-practice allowance.
Besides, said Sheikh, there were irregularities in funds released on account of monitoring allowance, overtime allowance and for other purposes.
The PTI leader also questioned the appointment of additional consultant Dr Farhan Ali as the chief finance officer at the facility, terming it "dubious".
He then went on to say that PPP leaders also faced accusations of corruption in connection with transactions via fake bank accounts and money laundering, illegal appointments in the Sindh education department and embezzlement of funds in the health, local government and revenue departments.
"The land of the forest department has been encroached and pension funds adding up to Rs3 trillion have been embezzled as well," claimed Sheikh.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2021.
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