Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat has suggested that government officers should display the details of their assets on the website of their respective department.

The committee meeting was held at the Parliament House on Friday with Rana Hayat Khan in the chair. It discussed the National Conflict of Interest Bill, 2016 – moved by MNA Murad Saeed – in detail and handed it over to the subcommittee consisting of Marriyum Aurangzeb and Asad Umar for further consideration.

The committee showed its concerns over the alleged large-scale corruption in the process of awarding contracts of medical gases’ supply and theft of medicines from public sector hospitals.

State Minister for the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Tariq Fazal Chaudhry informed the committee that his ministry had also taken notice of the matter. He confessed that Polyclinic Hospital had purchased several medical gases on much higher prices than the market rates. The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) got same gas for Rs 4,000 per cylinder whereas Polyclinic procured it for Rs 23,000, he admitted. He said that Polyclinic had now been asked to purchase oxygen from PIMS.

Asad Umar and other members of the committee criticised the Polyclinic administration and demanded registration of an FIR against those involved in corruption.

The committee also discussed the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University (amendment) bill, which was moved by MNA Tahir Iqbal.

The mover of the bill said it was for the first time in the history of the country that a hospital was converted into a university.

On this, the CADD minister informed the committee that PIMS was converted into a university in haste. He said that currently around 9,000 students were studying in the university, which had around 4,000 employees. He said that PIMS was providing healthcare facilities to some 10,000 patients on a daily basis.

He said that when employees given an option to either join the university or remain part of the hospital, only 10 to 12 staff members opted for the university. He said that the government wanted to resolve this issue once and for all, but amicably. Before making any decision, the rights of students, employees and patients would be protected, he said.

However, the state minister said that healthcare services at the institute deteriorated after becoming a university. He said that after he took charge of the ministry, cleanness and other measures for the betterment of the environment started at the government hospital in Islamabad. Now, medical and surgical wards of PIMS are developing on modern lines, he said.

He also pointed at certain “mafias” working in the hospitals who wanted to stop reforms. He quoted an incident and said that a few days ago, the Supreme Court chief justice visited Polyclinic for his eye treatment. When he reached there, the electricity of the Eye Department was disconnected, the minister said, adding that power was restored within five minutes after the administrators issued a warning to those responsible.

SZABMU Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Akram informed the committee that fate of the university would be decided after taking all stakeholders on board. He said that after the adaptation of this bill, the university would exist only in papers.

The committee’s chairman enquired why Dr Fazal Moula was transferred from Polyclinic if he was a better administrator. On this, the state minister replied that he, along with other officials, had come from KP on deputation, and all such employees were sent back to their respective departments as per the decision of the apex court.

The committee also formed a subcommittee – consisting of Asad Umar, Nafeesa Khattak and Parveen Bhatti – to present a report within two weeks on the SZABMU bill.