JPMC officials too find NAB, FIA breathing down their necks

Karachi
The National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency are probing into the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre’s financial and administrative affairs to ascertain allegations of misappropriation of funds and illegal appointments from 2013 to 2015.
The administrative control of the JPMC, the National Institute of Child Health, and the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases was handed over to the provincial government after the 18th constitutional amendment, but no major changes have taken place in the affairs and functioning of these hospitals, which for the last many years, have been marred by mismanagement.
NAB and FIA confirmed that they had launched a probe into the affairs of the JPMC as well as the NICH. Both agencies have not only raided the offices of both the hospitals and seized important records, but also sought records of financial transactions, appointments, and promotions.
They said the JPMC administration has been involved in financial and administrative malpractice, causing a loss of millions of rupees to the national exchequer.
NAB and FIA officials raided the house of JPMC executive director Dr Anisuddin Bhatti on Friday night and took him to the hospital from where documents and records were seized.
Investigators said a probe had been launched into the appointment of lower-grade officers to key posts at the healthcare facility. They added that services of the JPMC had suffered because of the favouritism there.
“JPMC executive director Dr Anisuddin Bhatti has appointed several of his preferred junior officers to senior posts and providing them with perks and privileges that they don’t deserve,” a NAB official told The News.
The JPMC executive director has also been told to respond to several queries in writing.
The official said a complaint was also being processed by the bureau and details of nine officers have been sought from the executive director about their grades and their posts at the time of the initial appointment and the current ones.
These JPMC officers include Deputy Director Javed Akhtar Jamali, Dr Sikandar Hayat, Amir Denari, Dr Salman, office assistant Saif, and clerks Irfan and Hassan Pathan.
The official said at least four lower-grade officers were given the posts of deputy directors.
“These lower-grade officers had supported the JPMC executive director in his appointment to his current post and that’s why he had rewarded them,” he added.

Records provided
Talking to The News, the JPMC executive director confirmed that NAB had launched an investigation into the hospital’s affairs and probing into the hiring of paid and unpaid postgraduates between 2013 and 2015. He added that all records sought by the authorities had been provided to them.
“The NAB is conducting an investigation after receiving a complaint and it had sought records from me which I have handed over to it,” he added. “There was no raid and I wasn’t detained.”
Dr Bhatti said he had taken over as the executive director of the hospital around six months ago while NAB was probing into JPMC affairs dating back 2013 for which he was neither responsible nor answerable.
On the issue of the appointments, he said the hospital needed deputy executive directors and deputy directors to run its affairs and the promotions and postings were in accordance with the rules and regulations.