(Peshawar) Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said the PTI-led
government is facing no threat from the opposition rallies or pressure from any
side and the whole drama is being staged for Senate elections, which the
government intends to hold earlier than schedule. He said the government has
approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan to hold the upcoming Senate elections
via a ‘show of hands’. Speaking to reporters here; Imran Khan said elections
for the Upper House would be held earlier than planned and that he had been
given a detailed briefing on the matter by Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid
Jawed Khan. ‘Horse trading is easier for the government in Senate elections;’
he said; adding that the PTI; however; believes in transparent elections and
had expelled 20 MPAs from the party. Imran Khan said all the robbers joined
hands and demanded ‘a 34-page NRO’ when he offered to engage in dialogue. He
said saying he would never bow down to them ‘under any circumstances’. He made
it clear that no invitation for talks on the opposition rallies has been
extended by the government.
‘The cases against the opposition were not filed during our
government (but) were registered in the past;’ he said; adding that there was
no threat to the PTI regime from them. According to Geo News, the premier
underlined that everyone was aware of what he was doing the day the Pakistan
Democratic Movement (PDM) held their much-anticipated rally in Lahore. ‘There
is no pressure on me;’ he said.
‘The opposition has been holding large rallies;’ he noted,
referring to the PDM's rallies in Peshawar; Karachi; Quetta; Lahore; Gujranwala;
and Multan. ‘If I want; I can still hold a rally bigger than opposition's;’ the
PM added. Meanwhile; appreciating KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan for his performance
in the health sector; Imran Khan formally inaugurated the state-of-the-art
Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC) and hoped it would carter to the needs
of cardiac patients of the province as well as Afghanistan. He said majority of
the people worldwide die of cancer and cardiac diseases. The prime minister
denied reports that his government was privatizing the state-run hospitals in
the country. However; he pledged to introduce reforms and bring them on a par
with the standard at the private sector hospitals. ‘I congratulate Mahmood Khan
and the people of KP for having this state-of-the-art cardiac centre. I must
appreciate Mahmood Khan and his government for their efforts and arranging
funds in extreme difficult circumstances to complete this mega health facility;’
the prime minister said. The prime minister arrived in tight security to the
PIC and inspected its different sections. He was briefed about the project and
the services being launched in the first phase. Chief Minister Mahmood Khan;
Governor Shah Farman; Chief Secretary Dr. Kazim Niaz and the provincial police
chief Dr. Sanaullah Abbasi accompanied the prime minister during his visit. A
limited number of people were invited to the inaugural event. Medical Director
of the PIC; Prof Dr. Shahkar Ahmad Shah, members of the Board of Governors
(BoG) including its Chairman Prof Dr. Abdul Bari Khan; Dr. Hameed Afridi; and
others attended the ceremony. Imran Khan said he was impressed by the cardiac
centre and the quality of services to be offered to patients.
‘It is so unfortunate that there is no proper facility for cardiac
patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Unfortunately; the only cardiovascular
department in the LRH was closed due to high mortality rate and the province
needed a specialized cardiac centre like PIC;’ the prime minister opined. He
lamented that nobody bothered to think about the people and their suffering
when someone falls sick in the family. ‘It affects the entire family and their
resources when someone falls ill and they have to arrange money for the
treatment;’ he pointed out. Imran Khan remarked that it was ironic that the
elite go abroad for treatment and don’t think about the rest of the population.
He said Mahmood Khan deserves appreciation as despite the difficult economic
situation he provided free healthcare to all the people of the province and
delivered them health cards. ‘People often ask us where is the State of Madina.
This is the great example of what this government is doing as countries with
better economies couldn’t ensure free universal healthcare that KP successfully
delivered;’ the prime minister maintained. He urged the PIC management to
maintain standard and quality in their services; adding; he had personally
observed standards go down in the government hospitals with the passage of
time. ‘The biggest challenge is to maintain standards at the PIC;’ he said.
About the strike of health workers in the Pakistan Institute of Medical
Sciences (PIMS) against the proposed health reforms; he rejected the impression
that the government was planning to privatize the state-run hospitals. ‘The
only reason for introducing reforms in the institutions is to bring improvement
in services and introduce a culture of accountability and transparency;’ he
added. Arguing that the government alone cannot build hospitals everywhere for
220 million population; Imran Khan urged the private sector to come forward and
set up hospitals in remote areas. He offered them land at low prices and said
they would not need to pay duty to import equipment for their hospitals. The
prime minister said private sector hospitals can benefit from the universal
healthcare scheme of the provincial government if they built quality hospitals
in remote parts of the province. The PIC is a 250-bed facility for cardiology
and cardiovascular services where six cath laboratories and six operation
theatres would be operational this week. Dr. Hameed Afridi; member of the BoG;
told The News that they had already selected some cardiologists and cardiac
surgeons and others would join next month. He said they had opened the hospital
for outpatient services and would use two floors at the moment. The hospital
has a 26-bed ICU and a CCU also with 26 beds. Once PIC is fully operational, it
would have the capacity to do 2,500 to 3,000 cardiac surgeries every year. In
the initial phase; the hospital will become operational with around 140 beds;
three cath labs and three operation theatres. It would soon be on the panel of
State Life for free healthcare services under the Sehat Plus program. The
entire faculty of the hospital is foreign trained and originally from KP. So
far three consultant surgeons and seven cardiologists have joined the hospital.
According to Dr. Hameed Afridi; most of the consultants and cardiologists came
from known hospitals in Pakistan and abroad; including Shifa International
Hospital Islamabad; Aga Khan Hospital Karachi and Shaukat Khanum Memorial
Cancer Hospital. Some came from the United Kingdom and one each from the US and
Canada. Meanwhile, Imran Khan launched the first model housing scheme of KP Jalozai Housing Scheme which has been
developed along the modern lines with all facilities. Executed by the
Pakhtunkhwa Housing Authority; the scheme is spread over 8,905 kanal of land
and has a total of 8,634 plots. The prime minister reached Nowshera on a short
visit through helicopter to perform the launching ceremony in the Jalozai area
of the district. He was accompanied by CM Mahmood Khan and Governor Shah
Farman. Federal Minister for Defence Pervaiz Khattak; KP Housing Minister Amjad
Ali Khan, Chief Secretary Kazim Niaz and other government officials were present
at Jalozai to welcome Imran Khan. The prime minister cut a tape to formally
launch the scheme. He greeted the KP government for completing development work
there within the stipulated time. Imran Khan directed the officials to disburse
loans on easy installments to the poor and homeless people for the construction
of low-cost housing units. He hoped the facility would strengthen the housing
industry and create livelihood opportunities. He said housing schemes should
not be developed on agricultural lands, adding barren or uninhabited lands
should be used for the purpose. Earlier; Additional Chief Secretary Shakil
Qadir gave a detailed presentation to the prime minister on the Jalozai Housing
Scheme. He said a total of 8,905 kanal of land had been acquired for the scheme
where 8,634 plots have been developed and handed to the owners. The official
said the development work on the scheme had been completed. ‘He said the 76km
road network has been finalized. Land has been allocated for the construction
of 19 mosques and the construction work on these places of worship is in
progress;’ he added. The official said the work on two large and 29 small parks
was nearing completion while one hospital; a degree college, seven water tanks
reach having the capacity to store 100,000 gallons of water have been
constructed. The additional chief secretary said charges had been deposited for
supplying electricity and gas; adding the practical work on ensuring the
supplies of these utilities would be launched soon. Meanwhile, Imran Khan said
that on December 16, six years ago; the nation was shocked and grieved by the
extreme act of terrorism against children and teachers of Army Public School
(APS). In a tweet, the prime minister said; ‘Today; six years ago; the nation
was shocked and grieved by the extreme act of terrorism against children &
teachers of APS; & the nation came together with a resolve to take on those
responsible.’ He wrote; ‘We remain determined & are moving forward in
fulfilling this commitment to the nation.’
by: mhmaamay - mhmamay
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