KARACHI: Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab laid the foundation stone for several development projects, including the construction and restoration of roads around the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and inaugurated the new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital.
“The facility has 25 incubators and vents for the newly born so that immediate care can be provided to them free of cost,” he said in a social media post.
Deputy Mayor of Karachi Salman Abdullah Murad, Deputy Parliamentary Leader in the City Council Dil Muhammad, administration of the Abbasi hospital, and the vice chancellor and registrar of Karachi Metropolitan University were present on the occasion.
The mayor said that providing basic facilities around the city’s hospitals was being prioritised.
After completion of the road construction and restoration, traffic flow in the surrounding areas would significantly improve, he added.
Says parks should not have walls so that citizens can enjoy greenery
The improvement of paediatric facilities at the hospital is an important step towards providing quality healthcare services to citizens, the mayor said.
Some 25 new beds have also been added to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the treatment of children with congenital diseases, and orders have been issued to provide four new ventilators to make this unit more effective, he said. “Facilities at the Trauma Centre are also being expanded.”
He said that the construction and repair work on various roads around the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital was progressing rapidly.
“The roads around the hospital were in a dilapidated condition, and we had promised to improve them; now work has begun to fulfil that promise.”
He announced that a new 50-bed facility was being established above the Trauma Centre, and construction work would begin soon.
“The purpose of these measures is to provide quality, faster, and accessible healthcare services to the people.”
Regarding the Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC), promises were made in the past, but the practical step of establishing a public university for the people of District Central was taken for the first time by the Pakistan Peoples Party government, he said.
“The bill for Karachi Metropolitan University has been passed by the Sindh Assembly, and now this university is fully functional.”
The mayor announced that in a few weeks, a new Centre of Excellence for Health Services would be established with the cooperation of the Karachi Metropolitan University in the soon-to-be-completed new block. “This centre will provide all facilities for diabetes, skin diseases, physiotherapy, and treatment of special children under one roof so that patients do not need to go to the general hospital and can receive services in a respectful and dignified environment.”
Asphalt carpeting
Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that asphalt carpeting work in the city had formally begun. “We, the people of the Peoples Party, fulfil what we promise.” He said that all assets and income of the KMC were being used for their betterment of the city.
He asked the Jamaat-i-Islami Town chairmen to use the Rs14 billion to Rs15 billion available to them for road cutting for the improvement of the city instead of keeping it in accounts, so that development work could proceed with focus.
Speaking on the 27th Constitutional Amendment, he said many people were propagating lies about it while everything was clearly written in the Constitution.
He clarified regarding the pharmacies and blood banks operating in hospitals that whichever institution used the hospital building would have to pay rent, “whether it is a pharmacy or a blood bank”.
He ordered suspension of two doctors at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for irresponsibility upon which a senior doctor informed him that show-cause notices had already been issued to the both doctors.
The mayor said that the walls built around parks in the city become an obstacle for the public.
Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2025