CJP directs govts to ensure treatment, testing facilities for breast cancer patients

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday summoned complete report pertaining to master plan for Faisalabad city as well as action taken over encroachments and ordered for plantation in those parks, cleared of encroachments.

A two-member SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard a case regarding encroachments and retrieval of state land in Faisalabad. The court directed commissioner Faisalabad to submit a comprehensive report regarding parks and playgrounds in the city besides directing him to ensure plantation in parks, cleared from encroachments.

The court also sought a report from the National Highways Authority (NHA) over highways of the country. The chief justice observed that situation had gone to an extent where we could not build even gutters as our town planners have shifted to Toronto and Europe, leaving the country.

The chief justice admonished Commissioner Faisalabad after he sought some time for answering the court queries and asked him as to what he had done so far against the encroachments in the city.

“You even failed to submit a master plan of the city in four years except for sending some photographs and always sought time for submitting a reply,” the CJP told the commissioner. The chief justice observed that it’s not a difficult task as one could find anything in a minute on Google, adding that through drone, information could be collected about every house.

The commissioner, however, submitted that he had been recently posted in the city and sought some time. The state counsel informed the court that out of 551-kanal land, 509 kanals have been cleared of encroachments.

The chief justice, while addressing the director general (DG) Faisalabad Development Authority asked as to whether he was just relaxing. “You are DG FDA and do you know about your responsibilities and whether you know what you are required to do,” the CJ asked the official.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing after seeking master plan of the city as well as reports pertaining to the campaign initiated against encroachments. Separately, the SC Tuesday took notice of sharp increase in cases of breast cancer in the country and ordered the federal and provincial governments to ensure adequate treatment and testing facilities in all public sector hospitals for breast cancer.

The two-member SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, was hearing a suo moto case on substandard stents to cardiac patients in hospitals. The court sought a comprehensive report from the federal and provincial governments regarding provision of treatment and testing facilities in the government-run hospitals for breast cancer patients.

The court also summoned in-person the federal as well provincial health secretaries on the next date of hearing, directing them to come up with a detailed report pertaining to provision of treatment facilities in the hospitals for breast cancer.

During the course of hearing, the CJ observed that 50 per cent population consisted of women and they must be protected from breast cancer as the disease is rapidly increasing among the womenfolk.

"No adequate facility of mammography as well as medical treatment of breast cancer is available in any public sector hospital,” the chief justice remarked, adding most of the womenfolk could not afford the expensive treatment, available in private hospitals.

The chief justice observed that only affluent class of women managed to avail the facilities of private hospitals, hence he stressed the need that state should ensure provision of such facilities in government hospitals. The court adjourned the hearing for a month with the direction that female specialist doctors should be appointed to hospitals for check-up and treatment of women.