HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that his government wants joint security, regular communication and information sharing between senior superintendents of police of Sindh and Balochistan to pre-empt threats to peace in the wake of the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar suicide attack.

He said at the 16th convocation of the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) on Saturday that terrorists easily moved between Sindh and Baloch­istan after carrying out subversive activities in either province. “We want to formalise the security arrangement between the two provinces. Its modalities are being worked out and I have already discussed it with the Balochistan CM,” he said.

“We have spoken to military and civil armed forces as well,” he said, adding that meetings were held with the army leadership in the wake of terrorist incidents.

He said the Sehwan blast was claimed by the militant Islamic State group. “In fact terrorists are coordinating with each other and sharing their assets in subversive activities. We, therefore, need to take some precautions,” he said.

He said that authorities were taking action against all suspects irrespective of their political affiliation and the government was fully focused on security of shrines and other important places, which was more important than taking disciplinary action.

Mr Shah did not comment on the federal government’s response to terrorist incidents in Sindh and said the most important evidence that was found was captured by the very same closed-circuit television cameras which, according to critics, were ‘defective’.

The suicide bomber had been identified and clues about more suspects had been found. Sindh government did not have geo-fencing facility and it had sought the assistance of intelligence agencies in this regard, he said.

He expressed dissatisfaction over performance of doctors and said that he did not find the humane side of doctors during his visits to different hospitals. People suffered if doctors failed to perform, he said.

He said that work on the Bilawal Medical College would be launched soon to end imbalance in the number of male and female medical students. In a lighter vein, he said, usually women proved to be better doctors than men as he himself could not become a doctor but his three sisters were medical professionals.

He said that the Sindh government had launched a programme to involve the private sector in the management of some hospitals under public-private partnership.

LUMHS Vice Chancellor Prof Noshad A. Shaikh drew the attention of the chief minister towards the university’s request for a 500-bed hospital of its own and a raise in the number of paid slots of postgraduates.

He said that Bilawal Medical College was being established with 100 seats exclusively for boys to end gender imbalance.

He said that 419 undergraduates and 124 postgraduates would be awarded degrees and diplomas. Dr Mariam Kaimkhani was declared the best MBBS graduate by clinching seven gold medals while Dr Hina Asif the best BDS graduate with 13 gold medals.

Sindh Minister for Health Dr Sikandar Ali Mandhro and Sindh Minister for Local Government Jam Khan Shoro also attended the convocation.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2017