Petition filed against health minister, secretary

PESHAWAR: An application was filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday requesting the court to stop the provincial health minister and secretary health from work and attach their salaries for not performing duties to overcome the outbreak of deadly dengue virus in the province.

Saifullah Mohib Kakakhel, a Peshawar-based lawyer, submitted the application in his writ petition filed against the provincial government for not taking timely and effective steps to prevent the spread of the dengue virus in the provincial capital, resulting in the death of 11 people and infecting hundreds of others.

In the application, the lawyer prayed the court to stop provincial Health Minister Shahram Tarakai and Secretary Health Abid Majeed from working and withhold their salaries as they had failed to overcome the outbreak of deadly dengue virus, which was now spreading to other districts and tribal areas from Peshawar.

He prayed the court to pass an order and hand over the affairs of the ministry of health to the health minister in Punjab and secretary health Punjab as to improve the health sector of the province too.

It was submitted in the petition that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif sent the provincial health minister and secretary health to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa along with the health experts and doctors with mobile health units to overcome the dengue virus and providing treatment to the infected patients.

He submitted that instead of giving a warm welcome to them, no official from the Health Department extended help to the team. However, he said, the people greeted the Punjab team and appreciated efforts of the Punjab chief minister for feeling the pain of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and taking action immediately for to save the precious lives.

The applicant believed that the health sector of the province had totally collapsed. He said the elected members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including its chairman Imran Khan, were busy trying to take over Punjab and ignored Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The PHC summoned secretary health, deputy commissioner of Peshawar and district health officer to appear before the court today and explain what measures had been taken to curb dengue.