ISLAMABAD: Though some progress was on Friday seen on the issue of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), its 4,000 employees are not ready to call off their strike unless the hospital is separated from Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto University.

Minister of Law Zahid Hamid at a meeting with the representatives of the employees on Friday promised that their demand would be taken up as a priority.

He directed the officials concerned to send a summery suggesting the separation of the hospital from the university to the prime minister at the earliest.

The employees appealed to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to ensure that a bill tabled in the National Assembly in 2014 for the separation of the hospital from the university is passed during the current session of parliament. The employees have been on a strike for five days.

Pims Employees Association spokesman Dr Asfandyar Khan told Dawn that Minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry arranged their meeting with the law minister on Friday.

During the meeting, he added, Dr Tariq informed the law minister that Pims was attached with the university to oblige one person by the PPP government.

Though former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on November 26, 2016, directed to pass the bill for separating the hospital from the university the bill is still pending, he said.

“The law minister said the bill should have been passed long ago as it contained nothing against the law. He directed the officials of his ministry to send the summery to the PM Office at the earliest and expedite the process to pass the bill,” Dr Asfandyar said.

However, he said, because of the demand of the employees it was not possible for the association to call off the strike.

Meanwhile, former member National Assembly Mian Aslam visited Pims and asked the protesters to remain united to get the issue resolved.

“The government will soon face the heat and pass the bill. We will continue supporting the employees as their demand is genuine,” he said.

A representative of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Employees Union, Chaudhry Yaseen, also visited Pims and said his union would continue supporting the employees.

Pims vice chancellor offers to step down

The employees have also started protesting against Pims Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Akram saying he was responsible for the delay in the passage of the bill.

Pims’ Press Secretary Tanveer Noshahi told Dawn that the employees were of the view that the university should be shifted outside of the hospital.

“We have been suffering because of the university as we have been declared private employees and cannot get government accommodation and plots. Moreover, the Ministry of Finance is not ready to allocate funds for new appointments,” he said.

When contacted, Dr Javed Akram said he had heard that the employees were blaming him for non-separation of the hospital from the university.

“The fact is I am against the strike and openly say that services cannot be stopped at any cost. Moreover, I offer to step down if the employees call off the strike because there is no purpose of sitting here if hospital services remain suspended,” he said.

In reply to a question, Dr Akram said in October 2016 the university syndicate had passed a resolution for the separation of the university from the hospital.

“The hospital was attached with the university long before I took over. The bill has to be passed by parliament and I have nothing to do with it,” he said.

During the tenure of the PPP government, the parliament passed the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad Bill 2013. After the passage of the bill, Pims was upgraded to a medical university.

But because of the decision, Pims, which was a welfare hospital, got attached with the university. Moreover, the status of the employees, who were civil servants, has gradually been changing as they have been offered to become employees of the university.

In 2014, MNA Tahir Iqbal tabled a bill in the lower house of parliament to separate the hospital from the university which is still pending.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2017