One decision led to the downfall of Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute: CJP
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Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on Monday said that former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif's decision to give the charge of Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) to Dr Saeed Akhtar "out of affection" led to the hospital's downfall.
The chief justice made those remarks while hearing a suo motu case against irregularities and misappropriation of funds at the PKLI.
"The former chief minister, out of affection, gave the hospital's [charge] to some doctor," said the judge, who was heading a two-member bench. "The doctor added to the trust some who had no role. The entire hospital is a mess."
Justice Nisar addressed Aitzaz Ahsan, the counsel of Mujahid Sherdil whose appointment as the CEO of Infrastructure Development Authority of Punjab (IDAP) was questioned by the top judge during a hearing in August.
"Now you have come to defend a person who wasted Rs34 billion," he told Ahsan. "So much money was spent at the hospital but look at the standard of operations."
When Ahsan objected to the findings of a forensic report compiled by Dr Kaukab Iqbal, the chief justice invited him to visit the hospital with him.
"You will be just as grieved as we were; we saw it for ourselves," he said. "The entire hospital is in ruins."
Subsequently, the apex court referred the matter to an anti-corruption court, with instructions to summon those responsible and submit a report within 10 days .
The hearing was adjourned till January 12.
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Comments (22) Closed
Dec 31, 2018 05:20pm
Compare PKLI with any institute of kpk and you'll see the difference!!
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Dec 31, 2018 05:20pm
What's so new about such authoritarian decision in Pakistan's 70-year history- that have ultimately led to such dire strait of the economic situation prevailing all over and almost in every sphere of government departments.
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Dec 31, 2018 05:29pm
Must remain impartial
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Dec 31, 2018 05:31pm
Highly commendable effort by SCP to appoint doctors and take care of Medical facilities of Pakistan. I think SC is the right forum to make appointments in hospitals so that better healthcare facilities could reach to the poor people. Bravo
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Dec 31, 2018 05:34pm
CJP is again and again proving himself to be too human. Perhaps he may be offered an important position in the PTI government after retirement.
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Dec 31, 2018 06:17pm
Punjab public services commission, causality of IMF and World bank. Contracted doctors annually are at the mercy of local administration, politicians and mood of babus in secretariat who may or may not extend their job for another year. Only poorly qualified, ill trained, well connected illiterate doctors would be encouraged to take these positions. Results are obvious if we have to make decisions about our health from Washington dictate.
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Dec 31, 2018 06:56pm
CJ must remain impartial.
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Dec 31, 2018 07:04pm
@Omer,
Sir, you could build for 3 billion what has been built for 34 billion. 34 billion is the entire health budget for KPK. Where has the money gone?
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Dec 31, 2018 07:15pm
Pakistan could shine if we have few more like CJ Mian Saqib Nisar sahib. Keep it up Sir. Thank you.
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Dec 31, 2018 08:22pm
Dr Saeed is a highly respected professional. The CJP, with all due respect, is the main reason this institute is unable to move forward in the right direction. SC is unduly wasting time of these professionals. Let them work and evaluate this in 5/10 years. The whole issue seems to be that CJP wants to fix this before he retires. That’s just not possible. Please leave PKLI alone and see it become a top healthcare facility in Pakistan.
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Dec 31, 2018 09:26pm
People like Aitzaz Ahsan should refrain from such cases, otherwise He will lose respect.
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Dec 31, 2018 09:50pm
Dr. Saeed Akhtar is a highly qualified person, you can check that on google. It is good to know that the former CM of Punjab had an 'affection' for such learned and experienced executives. I do hope that people of the province will send him back to the office. I do not know how the 34 billion was spent and how much of it was wasted. If there is a proof of corruption then by all means prosecute it, but there is no reason to presume that the doctor was not qualified for the job.
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Dec 31, 2018 10:02pm
Just today I read about the brilliant interference of CJ Iftikhar in Pakistan Steel which has cost Pakistan more than a few tanks and guns.
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Dec 31, 2018 10:18pm
@Omer, is there a single institution in KPK with the purpose of kidney and liver transplant?
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Dec 31, 2018 10:47pm
Your Chief Justice is indeed a strong and noble human being
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Dec 31, 2018 11:40pm
@Haroon, highly respected professional but what about rs 34 billion already spend with still not a single kidney transplant and no liver trasplant - Zaradari is respectable person too for many Nawaz is respectable person for many also — the CJ is talking about accountability — comptentence — corruption — nepotism that leads to incompetence — think about people who are on the death bed because their failed kidneys and liver - show some compassion for them.
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Jan 01, 2019 12:37am
'm not here to disrespect the honorable CJP, but I am deeply disturbed by the opinions stated by the CJP, and its not the first time. According to our laws and constitution, the Chief Justice is suppose to give the verdicts based on evidence that has been presented, which he has every step of the way, but somewhere in the process, the CJP has the tendency to get personal with people in court, and that should not happen, it should not be acceptable. If there is proof that Shahbaz Sharif did a favor to some doctor, than it should be proved beyond any reasonable doubt, until then, CJP should not pass judgement, its only his opinion. And this is my opinion, based on what I see and hear on daily basis. If we are going to enforce the rule of law, we need to keep our opinions to ourselves. Good day.
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Jan 01, 2019 03:37am
@Haroon, it’s not about Dr Saeed as a “person”; it’s about his capacity to operate an institution like this. Kudos to CJ!
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Jan 01, 2019 10:11am
@Omer, I dont think you been to PKLI. One of my friend work their as an electrical engineer , in a company that design the electrical wiring and some other stuff. He told me that even after Shahbaz Sharif's inauguration the OT do not have a AC installed. He said almost all the machinery was brought from Pak-Turk hospital
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Jan 01, 2019 03:14pm
Majority of Pakistanis come to India for Liver & Kidney and Lungs treatment and transplant.
some of my own Pakistani friends have been making esquires about this.
the hospital in my neighborhood treats scores of Pakistani nationals each month.
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Jan 01, 2019 08:03pm
@Haroon, dear it is written on the wall for everyone to read. You are asking for 5 to 10years?! 34 Billion bidget spent with what to shiw? However good the Doctor is, he can't be given a clean chit for wastage of resources. Admit he is an amazing doctor but whats his qualification in setting up an institute? It should have been a modular build. Starting off one section thats urgent and needed at a time. To appoint a judge to run it onwards now is again something unimaginable though?! A board should have been formed. With all members voluntarily working. Then would have seen only thise who jave passion to serve come in. Plenty of retired technocrats would have been happy to join.
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Jan 02, 2019 05:12am
@Omer, To make your post more informative you should add what good or bad difference they will see, which is good than the other.
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