GUJRAT: The Punjab government on Monday suspended Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital (ABSTH) Medical Superintendent Dr Imtiaz Ahmed Rana from service on charges of misconduct, inefficiency and financial matters.

In a notification issued by the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department, the MS was suspended under Peeda Act with immediate effect. However, appointment of a new MS has not been made yet.

Mr Rana is the third consecutive MS of the ABSTH suspended on almost the same grounds in the last couple of years.

Official sources said he would now face a regular departmental inquiry as the hospital’s performance had been deteriorating since his posting. A number of crucial medical equipment and machinery remained dysfunctional while the provision of medicine and other basic facilities too were not up to the mark.

They said the suspended MS did not have any experience of running a teaching hospital prior to his posting at the ABSTH and he had been serving as a deputy district officer health authority in Lahore.

It is learnt that the leadership of PML-Q, the ruling coalition partners in the Punjab government, was also not satisfied with Mr Rana’s performance and well-placed sources told Dawn that the PML-Q leaders too played a role in the punitive action against him.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2025