Daily Times

A Senate body, on Tuesday, deliberated upon the vague status and other irregular practices being committed at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad. Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services Regulation and Coordination took up a question; referred by the Senate. The query was proposed by Senator Mian Ateequr Rehman, also the committee chairperson. It asked the health ministry to respond to whether the hospital was a commercial entity or a charitable trust. The hospital’s CEO, Dr Manzoor ul Haq Qazi, claimed that Alshifa was a commercial entity. “The hospital was allotted land by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on that time property value in 1987”, he noted.

Not finding the CEO’s response satisfactory, the senators summoned him to in the next meeting with complete documentary evidence. A senator wondered that at present, Shifa had four so-called bodies, which include Shifa International Hospital; Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University; Shifa Trust and another trust-like entity located in Peerwadahi, Islamabad.

The senator noted, “Whenever they have to evade taxes, they mentioned it as charity trust while when they intend to make money they showed it as a commercial entity.” According to the lawmaker, Shifa Hospital was among five private hospitals across the country, which were on the panel of Pakistan Bait-Ul-Mal.

These hospitals provided free treatment to the deserving patients while the government paid the hospital through the Bait-ul-Mal department. He remarked, “It’s very regretting that Shifa never provides free treatment despite the hospital receives funds of millions from the government under said treaties.”

To supplement the senator’s remarks, former president of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) Dr Amjad Pomi said that during the previous government’s tenure, Shifa received grants to the tune of Rs 8000 million for a cardiac centre.

However, according to him, the centre never established.

He also claimed to have solid evidence in this regard. Rejecting these allegations, the CEO remarked that Shifa was a purely commercial entity and had never received a single penny from the government. Briefing the committee on another agenda item, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication (PMFP) Babar Bin Atta clarified his position over his alleged tweets (through his personal handle) against the Senate health committee. He asserted that he had just made public some facts related to the current progress on the program.

This had confused Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq. Babar alleged that as a reaction to which, Senator Ayesha had lashed a personal attack against him in an interview with a daily English newspaper. The senators also directed the PMDC to refrain all private medical colleges in Islamabad from charging Rs 50,000 from students in the name of insurance. The directions were issued until any further legislation over this matter. Health Secretary Captain (retd) Zahid Saeed informed the committee that the council had passed the fee (Rs 50,000) as an insurance fund with some insurance company.

He explained, “It was started with good intentions as some student whenever during study fails to pay the fee, then the respective insurance company would be liable to pay the outstanding fee of that student.” The secretary added that although the intention was not bad, there were still some loopholes regarding the formulation of this law.

The committee then directed PMDC to provide a list of all private medical colleges in Islamabad with comprehensive details regarding the dues they were charging from their students. Secretary Meanwhile, the said imposed ban, the committee noted, would remain applicable from now.