Less human?

On September 20, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) held a meeting with the health department in which a groundwork for the upgradation of health facilities in various districts was discussed. The official handout talked about steps for strengthening the tertiary care hospitals in ten districts, yet discussion of any improvements for the Hazara division is missing. The Hazara division only has one tertiary care hospital, catering to a population of almost 5.3 million people. This hospital does not even have a single working CT or MRI machine, and it gets flooded every time there is a rain. In light of the fact that the government has approved around Rs one billion each for fixing the Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium and for the sports city in Peshawar, it is baffling to imagine where the priorities of the current government lie. In his speech to the UN, the PM famously asked ‘are we children of a lesser God?’ Residents of Hazara Division cannot help but ask the provincial government the same question.

Dr Juwayriyah Qazi

Abbottabad