Mayor inaugurates various departments at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital

Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Saturday said the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), built in 1974 by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was intended to provide health care to locals so they would not need to travel to the Jinnah Hospital or the Civil Hospital.

Wahab said that while Bhutto served the locals, the hospital’s deterioration after 50 years speaks for itself. He said the hospital is being revived under the PPP government. Orders have been issued to reopen all non-functional wards, restoring this valuable asset of the people, he added.

He also said that this city that once seemed to be in ruins is now on the path to improvement under the leadership of a PPP mayor, not the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

Wahab said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had promised that the party’s projects would benefit the people. The mayor pointed out that the issue was never about authority or resources but about intention. The PPP is committed to working for the people, and will continue to do so under Bilawal’s leadership, he added.

The mayor shared these remarks after inaugurating various departments of ASH, alongside Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad, during an award ceremony at the CMWS KMC School.

Karamullah Waqasi, the PPP’s parliamentary party leader in the City Council, deputy parliamentary party leader Dil Muhammad, other elected party representatives, doctors and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

Wahab emphasised that resources, money and authority belong to the public, and must be utilised for their welfare. He noted that Karachi’s largest morgue, located at ASH, had been non-functional, but it has now been restored, with a capacity to hold 60 bodies.

He said ASH is a vital resource for the people of District Central, adding that further improvements have been planned for its departments. The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) is focused on delivering medical facilities to the city’s lower- and middle-class residents, he stressed.

He also said the trauma centre, the CT scan unit, the laboratory and the gynaecology ward at ASH have been renovated, and the long-closed School of Nursing has also been reopened.

He highlighted that the PPP government has introduced affordable healthcare services at ASH, such as CT scans that cost only Rs1,500, while mammography services are also available at the same cost.

The mayor said a dental OPD has been launched to provide essential dental care. He said that ARV vaccines used to be unavailable, but the administration has sourced these vaccines independently, ensuring their availability at government hospitals.

He also noted the PPP’s role in elevating the Karachi Medical & Dental College to the status of university, with the necessary law passed by the Sindh Assembly to establish the Karachi Metropolitan University.

“Our aim is to establish universities in all the seven districts of Karachi,” he said, reaffirming his party’s commitment to solving the problems of ordinary citizens.

He shared that the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) is operating in 10 districts of the province. Criticising the Jamaat-e-Islami, he said that the party’s opposition to establishing the NICVD in District Central reflects its mindset.

Wahab also announced taking stringent measures against littering in the city. He said municipal inspectors have been deployed to enforce these regulations, with the offenders likely to be fined and facing up to three years of imprisonment.

The Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and KMC inspectors are jointly addressing this issue, he pointed out. “With public cooperation, Karachi’s journey of improvement and development will continue.”