December 4, 2003	Thursday	Shawwal 8, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has launched an inquiry into the allegations of corruption in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), the Institute’s chief said on Wednesday.

The Institute’s executive director, Dr Fazle Hadi, told reporters that the NAB had initiated inquiries into different aspects of corruption and the hospital management was cooperating with the investigators.

“A lot of irregularities have happened in the past and I don’t know how many people are involved in it,” Dr Hadi said when asked to name the people wanted by the NAB. However, he said nobody would be spared if found guilty.

Dr Hadi, who took over six months ago, said he had introduced a system of clearing medicine bills within a month after intense scrutiny, as delayed payments were bringing a bad name to the institution.

He conceded that the Institute was facing the chronic problem of medicine bill arrears of two to three years running into millions of rupees because of wrong and exaggerated billings.

Dr Khaliquzzaman, a neurosurgeon at the Pims, also told reporters that a hospital staff member was in jail on charges of selling waste disposal. Similarly, a supporting staff member was also handed over to police when he was caught while removing gold bangles from the wrists of a dead woman.