Surprise resignation by KP CM adviser

PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s noted oncologist and Advisor to Caretaker Chief Minister on Health Prof Dr Abid Jameel surprisingly resigned on Friday.

He mentioned personal reasons for his resignation, saying that he wants to give time to his family and particularly his cancer patients coming to him from far-flung areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, other provinces and Afghanistan. He sent his resignation to Caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan.

“Dear Sir, I am writing to inform you that I, Dr Abid Jameel, advisor to chief minister on health, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, submit my resignation due to personal and family issues as well as a lack of time for my ailing cancer patients. I submit my resignation as caretaker advisor health with effect from April 28, 2023. Kindly accept my resignation. I must add that I had a very good learning experience at the Health Department as well as with you as caretaker chief minister and this time period spent under your leadership shall remain a memorable experience for me,” Prof Jameel said in his resignation letter to the chief minister. When reached, Prof Jameel repeated the same reasons as mentioned in his resignation letter and despite repeated attempts by this correspondent didn’t complain against anyone. “There was only one reason for which I had joined the government and that was to serve the people of this province. While joining the government, we were told that the government would be only for three months, but it seemed it would prolong and it was not possible for me to continue,” he argued. He said there was a lot of work in the Health Department that affected his personal and family life and most importantly his cancer patients. However, senior government officials and those close to Prof Jameel told The News he quit in protest as he single-handedly fought against the mafias and corrupt elements in the Health Department and nobody in the government backed him in this work.

“Frankly speaking, Prof Abid Jameel wasn’t fit for this job. He was a straightforward and thoroughly professional person and there were well-established, well-connected and organised mafias in the Health Department as well as in public sector medical and teaching institutions that he couldn’t afford to fight alone,” a senior government official in the Health Department told The News. Pleading anonymity, he said had closely worked with Prof Jameel and called him a “gem”, but at the same time, he was misfit for the Pakistani system and it was better for him to quit.

According to the official, the first incident that had broken his heart was when on April 7, 2023, Director General Services Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr Shaukat Ali was transferred and within half an hour, he managed to cancel his transfer orders and got himself restored as DG Health Services. The Chief Secretary Secretariat had issued a notification in which Dr Shaukat Ali, (management cadre of BS-20) was transferred and Dr Jamal Nasir (management cadre of BS-20) was appointed as DG Health Services. It was for the first time in the history of the provincial bureaucracy that a notification was issued and withdrawn within half an hour.

Dr Shaukat Ali belongs to Lower Dir and held important positions throughout his career. He was appointed DG Health on the last working day of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government.

According to officials, the caretaker chief minister didn’t support his cabinet member due to reasons best known to him, and that’s stated to be one of the many reasons that prompted Prof Jameel to resign. “I am sure painful stories would come out if Prof Jameel opens his mouth,” a senior Health Department official said.