News Analysis |
The Chief Justice of Pakistan grilled Health Minister of Punjab Dr. Yasmin Rashid and her ministry’s officials over their abysmal performance in the health sector. A two-judge bench, headed by the chief justice, reprimanded the minister over failure to comply with the court directives for carrying out the first-ever operation of liver transplant at the Pakistan Liver and Kidney Research Institute (PKLI).
The CJP asked about legislation with regard to the PKLI, the minister said a draft bill had been sent to the provincial law department for review and vetting. “You gave a similar reply at the previous hearing,” the chief justice said, expressing displeasure over, what he said, the government’s lip-service. “You don’t want the Supreme Court to help the Punjab government. You make lame excuses at every hearing.”
PTI promised to make the promised change visible after first 100 days but even after four months there is no sign of change in hospitals and police stations across the province.
The CJP angrily questioned whether the first-ever liver transplant surgery was performed at the institute. “We had given the deadline for carrying out the first surgery. Is this your performance? “Bibi, you have to take care of it, but you haven’t been doing anything,” Justice Nisar said while pointing to the minister. “You and the Punjab government pay mere lip service at every hearing. You haven’t been able to form even a commission till today.
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We are making the government’s incompetence in the case as part of the court’s written order,” the chief justice said. CJP clearly noted that the government has failed to provide basic health facilities to the people of the province. “You have failed to provide healthcare facilities in the province. People will hold you accountable. “You have badly failed to come up to the expectations of the SC.
Do whatever you want to run the PKLI,” the chief justice thundered, adding that the PKLI was being run under a trust and health ministry had paid a deaf ear to the SC’s repeated directives to dissolve the trust. It is worth mentioning here that the PTI-led government in Punjab is still lacking to formulate policies to reform the health sector.
The CJP angrily questioned whether the first-ever liver transplant surgery was performed at the institute. “We had given the deadline for carrying out the first surgery.
It is also added that the same could be observed when it comes to the police and other departments. The government is not focusing on concrete policy measures to counter with the challenges at hand. Critics argue that the PTI promised to make the promised change visible after first 100 days but even after four months there is no sign of change in hospitals and police stations across the province.
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PM Khan is often blamed for making a wrong choice by selecting Mr. Usman Buzdar as Chief Minister of Punjab. Mr. Buzdar is criticized for his inability to comprehend the ongoing political scenario and make policies in a politically tough environment.
It is also being widely discussed that if the government fails to satisfy the common people in a few months the opposition will likely to go the people and remind them of Khan’s promised change. Therefore, experts suggest Mr. Khan to take these matters seriously and address the basic issues of people with great care and attention.