DADU: Dr Mohammad Moeenuddin Siddiqi resigned from his post as director of Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Sehwan, on Saturday reportedly under pressure of an influential political personality of the area.

Sources said that Dr Siddiqi, who had been appointed to the post on Nov 8, 2018, and offered two-year contract, finally called it quits after buckling under mounting political pressure being exerted by the political personality for some days.

The sources said that Dr Siddiqi had cited personal and professional reasons in his resignation letter and sent its copies to chairman of the board of directors of the institute, private secretaries of chief minister, health secretary and members of the institute as well.

Citizens of Sehwan and social activists have appealed to the chief minister not to accept Dr Siddiqi’s resignation and take action against the political personality who had pressured him into resigning.

They said that Dr Siddiqi was an honest, upright and hard-working doctor who had worked tirelessly to run the institute in an efficient manner and also enabled it to conduct coronavirus PCR tests in the shortest possible time.

The institute’s OPD handled 5,000 people daily and supplied free of cost medicines to poor patients thanks to sincere efforts by Dr Siddiqi, they said. In a communication received in the evening, Dr Siddiqui stated that he was asked by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to continue with his assignment in this crisis-like situation arising out of the Covid-19 outbreak. “Therefore, I am continuing with it”.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2020