LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday extended his complete support for the employees of the public sector hospitals and stressed the government to review its decision of outsourcing the state-run health facilities.

He said this while talking to media persons soon after a delegation of the Young Doctors Association Punjab visited Masnoora headquarter of the party.

YDA President Dr Shoaib Niazi and Chairman Salman Haseeb led the delegation.

They briefed the Jamaat emir about the decision of the government of outsourcing the public sector hospital and its consequences. In the joint press conference, the YDA leaders said that the Punjab government was initially outsourcing the primary care hospitals.

They claimed, recently, it has also included the two teaching hospitals of Lahore including Jinnah and Mayo in the same scheme.

On this, Naeemur Rehman expressed his utter displeasure saying the outsourcing of the hospital was being taken as privatisation and this would seriously affect the free-of-cost treatment to the poor patients.

He stressed that the government should introduce uniform policy for the free health and education in the state-run institutions rather than handing them over to the private sector.

The Jamaat emir said that amid heightened tension with neighbouring country, India, the government should avoid confrontation with the medics.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2025