DHQ privatisation plan protested

LANDIKOTAL: The employees of the district headquarters hospital here on Saturday staged a protest against the plan to privatise the health facility.

A large number of health staffers, including doctors, local elders and leaders of political parties attended the protest demonstration held outside the hospital. They were holding banners inscribed with slogans against the hospital’s privatisation.

Speaking on the occasion, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Abdur Rauf Shinwari, Muqtadar Afridi, paramedics association president Fazal Rahman Afridi, Shah Rahman Shinwari, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl merged districts deputy head Mufti Muhammad Ijaz Shinwari said that privatisation was not the solution to resolve the problems being faced by the patients.

They said the government should fight corruption and bring transparency and ensure upholding merit. They claimed the provincial government received billions of rupees for the development of ex-Fata development, but it did nothing for tribal people.

Mufti Ijaz said the government should improve the working of the hospital instead of privatising it. The protesters said they would stage a protest outside the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar if the decision was not taken back.

A large number of patients who had come from Afghanistan and far-flung areas of Shalman waited for long hours but the out-patients department (OPDs) were closed due to the strike.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference, the health staff said they would not accept the government decision to give the DHQ hospital under public-private partnership.

However, a large number of political activists, social workers and local residents through their social media posts welcomed the government decision and said the hospital would better serve patients if it was run under the public-private partnership. It may be mentioned here that the government has decided to run a number of hospitals including the district headquarters hospital Landikotal under the public-private partnership.

MS of DHQ registered FIR against paramedics president Fazal Rehman Afridi and class-4 president Khial Madar for observing strike against the hospital privatisation.