SWAT: Pakistan Peoples Party, Swat chapter on Tuesday rejected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s move to bring Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital (SGTH) under the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act (MTIRA), terming it an anti-people initiative.

The party announced plans to launch a protest movement and file a legal petition against the decision. The health department has formally initiated the process to extend the MTIRA to both SGTH and Khyber Institute of Child Health (KICH), Peshawar.

In a letter sent to the medical superintendent of SGTH and the director of KICH, the department has directed the institutions to urgently provide budgetary details, including monthly and annual figures for salary and non-salary expenditures, revenue generation, and any new posts required for the transition, along with their financial implications.

According to the letter — also sent to the secretary health department and deputy secretary (MTIs) – the financial impact of the transition must be submitted before the proposal is forwarded to the provincial finance and law departments for final approval.

Addressing a press conference, PPP Swat president Saleem Khan said that the provincial government had failed to deliver in both the health and education sectors.

He said that the PTI-led government had already implemented a similar contractor-based system in Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, which had led to public suffering. “Now, the same flawed model is being pushed in Swat, which will deprive residents of basic healthcare,” he warned.

Saleem Khan announced that the People’s Lawyers Forum would file a writ petition in the Peshawar High Court against the extension of MTIRA to Saidu Hospital. “The PPP will oppose this decision on every front — legal and public. We will not allow anyone to trade off citizens’ rights or impose an external agenda,” he added.

He cautioned the provincial government that failure to roll back the decision would lead to an expanded protest movement across the region.

PPP Malakand division president Malik Akram Khan, and other leaders, including Shamsher Ali Khan Advocate, Akhtar Munir Advocate, Arshad Khan Advocate and Dunyazeb Advocate were also present at the presser.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2025