ISLAMABAD: Hefty funds that were utilized to build the Nawaz Sharif Kidney Hospital (NSKH) in Swat, which was inaugurated by the prime minister three days back, were principally contributed by the civic-minded wealthy people of Punjab on the initiative of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
Among the donors, Senator Ishaq Dar, now finance minister, figured prominently with the single largest contribution of Rs50 million. The Sharif family donated Rs10 million.
“Shahbaz Sharif, who has a knack for delivering governance and development, created history when he built this project in Swat through an innovative institutional approach on the direction of Nawaz Sharif,” a senior Punjab government official told The News.
The provincial government had set up the fund for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Swat during the anti-terrorist operation when millions of people were dislocated due to the military campaign.
“Through personal efforts of Shahbaz Sharif under direction and supervision of Nawaz Sharif, Rs800 million funds were donated by the people of Punjab for welfare of IDPs,” the official said.
He said that the chief minister consulted all secretaries and officials of grade 17 and above to donate their three days’ salary. All university and autonomous institutions of Punjab and philanthropists and MPs also responded to the call and these funds were collected in a span of six weeks, he said.
The official said that Nawaz Sharif instructed Shahbaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar to utilize these funds in an institutional manner. On the request of the chief minister, Dar agreed to lead the initiative, he said.
“To overcome the procedural hurdle of how can the Punjab government deliver a project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Shahbaz Sharif’s dynamism and Dar’s financial innovation teamed up and a trust under chairmanship of the latter was set up with officials of Punjab and KP on the board. Some civic minded public representatives were also included in it.”
The official said that on the personal request of Shahbaz Sharif, the then KP Chief Minister, Amir Haider Hoti, responded and allocated 32 kanals of state land. The use of state land for development projects has always been a big issue in Swat.
The trust followed all the procurement principles of public sector and delivered the hospital in two years. While not being in government, Nawaz Sharif had laid the foundation stone of the facility.
Officials of Punjab relief and health department assisted the trust in this project, which PML-N MPs from KP cite as a symbol of their party’s love for the province. The official said those in government in KP can’t identify even one mega project completed in last three years. However, he appreciated the previous Awami National Party government for facilitating the Punjab trust, keeping politics aside.
Kidney failure is a major illness in KP. This is first specialized hospital in the region. The official recalled that the Punjab government had similarly delivered huge assistance to IDPs of North Waziristan in record time. There they used mobile phone based easy paisa mechanism to bypass KP administrative machinery.
Similarly, he said, the Punjab government paid earthquake assistance in Balochistan. The chief minister’s helicopter delivered assistance to the victims for two months at a stretch. Other conspicuous contributors included billionaire Mian Mohammad Mansha, Chairman of Nishat Group, Shahid Saleem of Habib Construction Services Limited, and Sheikh Alauddin, Chaudhry Shabbir Ahmed and Chaudhry Mohammad Yousuf, members of the Punjab Assembly belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Noman Ahmed Khan, CEO of Layyah Sugar Mill and Al-Mughair Industries, Aftab Butt, CEO of Kot Addu Power Company, Waleed Arshad, President, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited, Dr Ghulam Nabi Chaudhry of Asia Poultry Feeds Limited, Javed Saifullah of Saif Group, Khalid Hamid Chairman, APTMA Faisalabad, Iftikhar Ali Malik, CEO of Malik Auto & Agriculture Industries Limited and several others.
