August 27, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Saani 17,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: The employees of the National Institute of Health (NIH) have urged President Gen Pervez Musharraf to save the organization from complete collapse, since it was under a heavy burden of Rs400 million loan.

In a letter sent to the president andChief Justice of Pakistan, the employees alleged that the loan had been taken from Extended Programme of Immunization (EPI) project being funded by the WHO.

They alleged that the institute was not in a position to pay back the loan due to mismanagement in the organization.

The employees urged the president to appoint an army officers, to bring the organization back on track.

They said the NIH was an income-generating institute, but alleged that mismanagement had brought it to the brink of collapse.

Last year, they said, the WHO had provided Aids testing kits worth Rs3.2 million to the institute for free testing of deserving people. However, they alleged that the kits found their way to the open market, which was also reported in the national as well as international newspapers, but to no avail.

The letter said the institute had taken a record loan from different departments, despite receiving a Rs38 million grant from the science and technology ministry for vaccine production. However, it alleged that the management wasted the money on non- productive activities.

The NIH was set up 40 years ago with a view to providing an ideal research place for health professionals. The project was started under the supervision of Col Bokhari and within a few years, the NIH became one of the best laboratories of the South Asian region, the letter said.

Meanwhile, the NIH executive director, Dr Athar Dil, was not available to comment on the allegations when approached despite the fact that he was in his office.