Dark clouds to hover over Centre if provincial autonomy withdrawn, says Rabbani

KARACHI: Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani has said that certain forces are still trying to ensure that the subjects of education and health are handed back to the federal government which is against autonomy being given to the provinces.

“If the autonomy given to the provinces is withdrawn, dark clouds will hover over the federation as the federation cannot afford more of such experiments,” said the Senate chairman, while inaugurating the modern and upgraded ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and HDU (High Dependency Unit) at the Darul Sehat Hospital in Gulistan-e-Jauhar on Saturday.

The Senate chairman said that the subjects of health and education remained with the federation unconstitutionally from 1947 to 2010. Health and education are provincial subjects but unfortunately the federation had continued with its hold over the two subjects unconstitutionally, he said.

“Certain forces have been forcefully trying that the subjects of health and education should be returned to the federation despite that 18th Constitutional Amendment (ensuring provincial autonomy) had been passed after the agreement of all the political parties and federating units,” he said.

He said that even after the passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, an attempt was made to ensure that the federation persists in holding on to the subject of health but the present day’s political scenario had changed altogether from the political situation which prevailed in the country during the decades of the 1960s and 70s.

Raza Rabbani lamented the situation that hospitals were being run on a commercial basis. Sindh should see the establishment of more health institutions but in case the state was not fulfilling its obligations, then philanthropists could also come forward for the same cause, he said.

“Karachi is the city of lights and is like a mini Pakistan, and every democratic movement was launched from here. It is obligatory upon all of us that the best of education and health services should be provided to residents of Karachi,” he said.

He said that the Darul Sehat Hospital had been performing a commendable job in the health sector, hoping the health institution in the private sector would continue with its good work in other parts of Sindh also.

Darul Sehat Hospital Chairman Amir Waliuddin Chishti said the Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry, for which Darul Sehat Hospital is a teaching hospital, had launched its education service with the admission of 50 students some 16 years back while after some time the number of students in a batch had been increased to 75 with the approval of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.

He said the newly upgraded ICU ward had a capacity of 15 beds while five patients could be treated at the newly launched HDU of the hospital.