SUKKUR: Veteran Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) politician and former leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah inaugurated an operating theatre (OT) at the Sukkur Civil Hospital on Sunday.

Speaking to the media about continuous improvements being brought about at the hospital, Mr Shah pointed out that the process of its further upgrading was also going on.

He noted that the hospital had initially only three operating theaters, but the number had now risen to eight. A modern laboratory has also been established, he said, adding that previously an average 3,000-4,000 tests were conducted every month, and now this number had increased to over 70,000.

“Our target is to increase the number of tests to over 100,000,” he said.

Says city will have Sindh’s second largest trauma centre soon; rejects rumours about Asif Zardari’s intention to quit as president

Mr Shah proudly claimed that the accuracy and standards of the test conducted at this civil hospital’s lab could be compared with those of the Aga Khan Laboratory.

He was, however, critical of the practice of ‘recommendation’ by a doctor for treatment of any patient. “This culture of recommendation in the medical field must come to an end,” he remarked.

The veteran PPP leader also announced that Sukkur would soon have Sindh’s second-largest modern trauma centre after Karachi. “All matters related to it will be finalised next week,” he said.

Answering journalists’ questions about PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s intention to quit as the head of state, Khursheed Shah categorically rejected all such rumours. “It’s media mughals who are spreading such rumours and propaganda … nothing of sort is going to happen,” he remarked.

They would crack such things about one or another dignitary every now and then, he said.

Turning to recent nation-wide protests against inflation and an unprecedented hike in the prices of petroleum products, Khursheed Shah said the PPP had also not remained silent over the trend affecting common man.

“We have also been holding such protests time to time,” he said. He, however, claimed that “petrol prices in Pakistan are still lowest in the region”.

“Actually the levy on petroleum products in our country is exorbitantly high. During our times, the levy on petrol was Rs8 per liter, but it has since been increased to Rs150 per liter, which is too high,” he pointed out.

Mr Shah urged the federal government to reduce the levy if it could not slash the fuel prices.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2026