Daily Times

KARACHI: Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar Saturday said that the judiciary did not want to interfere in matters of the executive but is ‘compelled’ to do so due to the poor state of affairs.

“And when we do interfere, it is said that we are foolish to interfere in the work of the executive,” the chief justice observed while hearing the suo motu case of the death of five children in Tharparkar and Mithi, apparently referring to ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif who on Wednesday had said that the functions of the parliament had gone into the ‘hands of others’ and that the suo motu notices had taken the functions of the executive away from it.

As the proceedings commenced at the apex court’s Karachi Registry, Health Secretary Fazlullah Pechuho submitted a report stating that the majority of deaths occur due to malnutrition, pneumonia and cholera. The report claimed that early marriages and lack of birth control are also among crucial causes of infant mortality. “Doctors do not agree to attend to patients in areas like Mithi,” he maintained.

“After reading the report, it seems that you aren’t at fault at all. You have just written that underweight children die. There are many problems in Sindh’s health department. Secretary Sahab, why don’t you serve any other department?” the CJP remarked after going through the report.

Referring to a video clip that showed the poor state of a hospital in Larkana, the ruling PPP’s stronghold, the CJP said that he felt ‘ashamed’ and wanted to visit the city to oversee the state of affairs there. He expressed concern over the numerous health problems in Sindh and said that hospitals hand over the bodies of children to parents who are left with nothing but grief.

Sindh Advocate General Barrister Zameer Hussain Ghumro claimed that the government had built an ‘excellent’ hospital in Mithi and distributed free wheat in Thar.

To this, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah said that the bench is cognizant of everything and knows the quantity of free wheat distributed in areas and how the wheat was ‘lost in corruption’ prevalent in the department.

After a recess, the court rejected the report submitted by Pechuho and ordered the government to form a committee comprising ‘neutral’ doctors working in Aga Khan Hospital or other hospitals of the similar stature.

Doctor Nawaz Malah suggested that a joint investigation team (JIT) must be formed to expose corruption in the health department, to which the chief justice said that this can also be taken into consideration.

Published in Daily Times, April 1^st 2018.