HYDERABAD: The provincial director general of health, Dr Irshad Memon, was removed on Monday in line with the Sept 21 order of the Sindh High Court.

The order was issued by a division bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Adnanul Karim Memon in Karachi. Dr Juman Bahoto has replaced Dr Memon as a BS-20 officer.

Dr Irshad had replaced BS-20 officer Dr Mubeen Memon last year. It was learnt that Dr Mubeen was shown the door by the health department after he had objected to ‘behaviour’ of a person who called the shot in the department’s administrative matters.

Dr Mubeen Memon was posted as the district health officer (DHO) at Mithi replacing Dr Irshad Memon, who was posted as the DG Health vice versa. Dr Mubeen has since retired from the service.

Dr Irshad is likely to be posted as the additional project director in the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) as it is a BS-19 position which is currently held by Dr Greesh.

Sindh EPI — an important wing of health department though — was earlier headed by Dr Akram Sultan as the project director.

The court had expressed its displeasure over junior officers having been given senior positions under titles like ‘allowed to work’, ‘own pay scale (OPS)’ and ‘additional charge’.

Justice Panhwar, in his Sept 21 order, had observed that “directives contained in the previous order were/are of general application and no post has an exception from such directives”.

Discussing the previous directive pertaining to the health department, the court had ordered that all officers posted under such titles be removed. The provincial health secretary had submitted a report in this regard in the court, mentioning that 36 junior officers holding higher grade positions had now been removed.

A purported letter, dated Aug 4, of the outgoing DG health had triggered a controversy. The letter pertained to the Integrated Health Service (IHS) and was addressed to DHOs with subject: “Closing of all NGOs (health sector) PPHI (People’s Primary Healthcare Initiative), IHS, HANDS, Indus and MERF”.

It also asked DHOs “not to engage their staff in polio campaign and Covid-19 assignments”.

The DG had termed the letter circulated in the social media “fake”, saying that it had nothing to do with truth and reality.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2021