Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC)’s single bench directed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Shifa International Hospital, Dr. Manzoor ul Haq Qazi, to join the investigation process of FIA in a case regarding alleged fake degrees of a hospital’s doctor.

Mohsan Akhtar Kiyani of the IHC heard the case filed by the CEO of Shifa Hospital seeking to set aside the first information report (FIR) registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against him for allowing a doctor Dr. Nasir Uddin Khokhar to play with the lives of patients.

The FIA also included the former Registrar Pakistan Medical Dental Council (PMDC), Dr. Ahmed Nadeem Akbar, ex-Assistant Registrar, Muhammad Bashir, in the FIR for issuing a certificate of Professor of Gastroenterology to Dr. Nasiruddin Khokhar despite the fact that the holder was only a MBBS doctor.

The case was registered on the complaint of a victim patient Nadeem Akhtar, who was suffering from various diseases due to wrong treatment by Dr. Nasiruddin Khokhar.

The three accused including Dr. Khokhar, Nadeem Akbar and Mr. Bashir had already succeeded to get bails from the court while the CEO had challenged the FIR in the IHC.

According to the FIR, a patient, namely Nadeem Akhtar, stated that he visited the Shifa International Hospital Islamabad on June 25, 2010, where the head of Gastroenterology Depart-ment Dr. Nasir Khokhar examined him and prescribed a certain medicine.

Due to the wrong prescription, the complainant suffered from brain atrophy and impotency. During enquiry, it transpired that Dr Nasir Khokhar was neither a gastroenterologist nor a specialist of neurology, but was fraudulently displaying himself as such.

The above doctor had registered with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) as MBBS doctor (Karachi University) and Diplomat of American Board (DAB) Internal Medicine while claiming several bogus degrees on his letterhead including the Professor of Medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology, DAB Quality Medicine and Fellow American College of Gastroenterology etc.

The PMDC later issued a warning notice to the above doctor for the incorrect medicine prescription to the complainant and later also cancelled his experience certificate that was issued with the connivance of the then Registrar PMDC, Dr. Ahmed Nadeem Akbar and former Assistant Registrar Muhammad Bashir.

This certificate was allegedly issued by way of incorrect calculation of the relevant experience period and PMDC’s disciplinary committee recommended penal action against the officials involved in issuing the certificate.

The CEO of Shifa International Hospital Dr Qazi Manzoor ul Haq Qazi allowed Dr Nasir Khokhar to continue practice as gastroenterologist in the hospital despite knowing about his non qualification and cancellation of experience certificate, the FIR further added.

When contacted, CEO Shifa Hospital Mr Qazi and hospital spokesman were not available for comments.