PMA urges new DUHS VC to probe ‘corruption of previous regime’

“Be prepared for Dow Leaks after the appointment of the new vice-chancellor of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS),” Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Karachi President Dr Shaukat Malik told a news conference on Tuesday.

Welcoming Prof Saeed Quraishy’s appointment by the governor on the Sindh High Court’s orders, the PMA hoped that the new VC would investigate the “wrongdoings of the previous regime” that remained in power for 14 years and “carried out unprecedented financial and administrative embezzlements”.

Dr Malik claimed that “huge financial and administrative embezzlements” had been carried out in the tenure of the previous “mafia”, which did not wish to see anyone else assume the charge of the VC. “The anti-health education mafia is still trying to retain control of the varsity.”

PMA General Secretary Dr Qaiser Sajjad told the news conference that the former governor had destroyed health education in the province by appointing his blue-eyed boys as VCs at health universities across the province.

“Whenever the DUHS VC retired after completing his term, the now-former governor tried to appoint his principal secretaries in violation of merit and recommendations from the Sindh chief minister.”

Dr Sajjad also criticised the current chief executive for ignoring health and education in the province, saying that CM Syed Murad Ali Shah had declared health and education as his priorities.

He said Shah had announced declaring an emergency in the two areas but never took out time for the PMA to discuss health and education, which showed how interested he was in improving the health and education sectors in the province.

Felicitating Prof Quraishy on his appointment, Dr Sajjad said they would be closely monitoring the performance of the VC as a watchdog. “If we found the new VC to be deviating from his stance, the PMA would strongly oppose him and compel him to ensure merit and transparency.”

Former PMA general secretary Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, who fought a legal battle in the high court for the appointment of a DUHS VC on merit, claimed that their struggle was not for the appointment of Prof Quraishy per se.

“We had only asked the court to direct the authorities to appoint a person on merit who deserved to be the VC of the most prestigious health university in the country.”

He also supported the call for accountability and investigation of the “wrongdoings of the previous regime” and hoped that the new VC would expose the “unlawful activities of the previous junta”.