Free health facilities in Sindh unavailable in neighbouring countries: Nasir

Patients in Pakistan’s neighbouring countries do not have access to such free healthcare facilities which are available to the patients in Sindh, said Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah in a statement issued on Sunday.

He said no other province in Pakistan had done for the health what the Sindh government had done for the development of the health sector. The information minister said patients suffering from various heart diseases, those in need of liver transplants as well as patients suffering from cancer were being treated free of charge in Sindh through modern technology, such as cyberknife, a radiation therapy device.

The minister said liver transplant in Gambat, a small city of Sindh, was being done free of charge for a long time. Nasir said the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital was indeed a good medical institution, but the difference between it and the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation was that “in the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital, the patient has to deposit some money, while at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, the patient does not have to pay a single penny for his treatment”.

The minister said the number of dialysis sessions in the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) was unmatched by any other unit in the world. Nasir said the patients not only from Sindh but from all over the country cane to these health institutions in Sindh to avail the facility of free treatment.

He said that “some ordinary politicians” made statements regarding Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to raise their political stature. The minister invited the leaders of the opposition to “come and take stock of the progress being made in the health sector in Sindh and then make a statement in this regard”.

He said it was not appropriate to make political statements without knowing the facts. “Criticism for the sake of criticism is nothing but a waste of time,” he said. Talking about “the illegal nature of the newly-constituted NFC by the federal government”, Nasir said that before rising to power, Prime Minister Imran Khan had always praised the 18th constitutional amendment as well as the National Finance Commission. “This is on the record, but now after forming the federal government, nobody knows why Imran Khan has started criticising the 18th constitutional amendment and the NFC.”

The minister said that as per the constitution, the finance adviser and the finance secretary could not be included in the NFC. He said the NFC could have finance minister but the prime minister had kept the finance minister’s portfolio with him.

Nasir said he was in the favour of granting more funds to Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He said these funds were already available with the federal government.

Talking about the grievances of Balochistan's political leaders with the federation, he said Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Sana Baloch were patriotic leaders and the federal government should take the issues of Balochistan seriously.

The minister said when Asif Ali Zardari was the president, he sincerely tried to solve the problems of Balochistan. He said more efforts were needed in this regard.

Smart lockdown

Earlier, Nasir urged the public to restrict movement in the areas where smart lockdown had been imposed. He requested the citizens to fully cooperate with police and security personnel.

In a statement, the minister said it was highly important for the people to follow the government’s announced standard operating procedures (SOPs) because without the public support the government could not succeed in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

“The more people follow the guidelines issued by the government, the sooner we will be able to get rid of COVID-19,” he said.

“If people do not cooperate with the government and do not fully implement the health advisory issued by the government, we will have to live with the coronavirus pandemic for a long time, during which many precious lives will be lost,” he warned.

Nasir said the decision to impose lockdown in certain areas has been taken only to save the lives of the people. The provincial minister said the government was aware that the people were facing difficulties due to this lockdown, but “if precious lives could be saved due to these temporary difficulties, it will be a success for both the government and the people”. He said the people should realise that all decisions of the Sindh government were for the welfare and betterment of the people.