LAHORE: Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has warned Rana Sanaullah against entry to Punjab, saying he will not find a place to hide as soon as he enters the province.

He said the PDM government and the Sharif family were terrified after a call for the long march was given.

Speaking to the media at an inauguration ceremony of a bone marrow transplant unit at the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Transplant Institute (PKLI) here on Friday, Mr Elahi said Shehbaz Sharif did not functionalise the hospitals established during his tenure (in Punjab) and left them for rusting while he (Parvez) had decided not to block functioning of any institution established by the previous PML-N government in Punjab. He said this government was running the PKLI also.

The chief minister said Shehbaz had destroyed the healthcare system as well as all other institutions. He said all medicines in hospitals’ emergencies would again be offered to patients free of cost while the doctors serving in emergencies were now being given double salaries.

Since the whole government and the Sharif family had got terrified at one call of the long march, he said he suggested to Shehbaz to resign and go home.

Mr Elahi said the opposition would require the support of 186 members in the Punjab Assembly to topple the government and added that the opposition would not be able to show the required members.

Mr Elahi said Shehbaz had been badly exposed in the prime minister’s office as the federal government did not contribute even a penny for rehabilitation of flood victims while Imran Khan’s telethon helped collect some Rs2.5bn.

Stating that the bone marrow transplant cost around Rs2.5m, he said, the government would offer the facility to poor patients free of cost. The unit would initially have 17 beds.

Health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, the specialised health and medical education department secretary, IDAP CEO, PKLI CEO and other officials concerned were present.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2022