PMA Sindh elections: 3 doctors go at each other’s throats

Accusations fly as PMA members worry about designations instead of dengue.

KARACHI:

Differing views about last Sunday’s Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Sindh elections were presented in two competing press conferences.

They were organised by members of the PMA Central and Karachi chapters on Wednesday, and by newly elected members of PMA Sindh on Thursday.

The dispute between the PMA factions has been brewing for a while now, and has principally revolved around three PMA Sindh members - Dr Hadi Bux Jatoi, Dr Samrina Hashmi and Dr Pir Manzoor Ali.

Jatoi, the long-standing general secretary of the PMA Sindh, was accused by his colleagues of not holding elections for 14 years. PMA then elected Dr Ali as the Sindh general secretary and Dr Hashmi as president in May 2011.

However, Dr Hashmi and Dr Ali had their own differences. Dr Hashmi later joined Dr Jatoi’s groups and the two then challenged Dr Ali’s PMA membership, and ultimately had a civil court rule in their favour by calling new elections. These were held last Sunday, and Dr Hashmi became the PMA Sindh president and Dr Jatoi regained his old position of general secretary.

PMA’s secretary general Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, treasurer Dr Qaiser Sajjad and Karachi president Dr Idrees Adhi spoke at Wednesday’s press conference. Dr Azhar argued that PMA Sindh’s elections were illegal because a stay order had already been issued by the court.

Dr Adhi said that he learnt on February 28, 2012, that Dr Hashmi had opened a bank account in the name of PMA Karachi, but used it for gathering funds for PMA Sindh. That account was credited with donations from PMA’s international supporters, while the money was at the disposal of PMA Sindh’s president. Adhi alleged that Dr Hashmi had transferred Rs1.75 million from the Rs4.4 million in the account to her personal bank account. “This is the first financial scam in the 64-year history of PMA. We wanted to resolve this amicably, but the PMA has zero tolerance for corruption,” said Dr Azhar and Dr Qaiser Sajjad.

PMA Karachi has suspended Dr Hashmi’s membership and formed a three-member committee to investigate the matter.

Dr Hashmi and Dr Jatoi, in their press conference on Thursday, claimed that they represented the “genuine PMA Sindh.” Hashmi and Jatoi alleged that they are being targeted because some PMA members wanted to make the Karachi chapter more powerful and prevent other PMA chapters of Sindh from flourishing. “We are the elected representatives now, so we clearly have no motive in creating all this hue and cry. It is the other party that has vested interests,” said Dr Samrina.

The two doctors reiterated that Dr Pir Manzoor Ali is not a PMA member.

Dr Hashmi, while responding to Dr Adhi’s accusations, said that she had created a “relief fund” account, instead of a PMA Sindh account, to which her friends had deposited money. Dr Jatoi added that the account was being operated with the knowledge of other PMA office bearers. He also said that the account contained Rs6.6 million instead of Rs4.4 million figure quoted by their rivals.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2012.