Karachi, 1 November 2012;
President Asif Ali Zardari today chaired four separate meetings here at Chief Minister House Karachi that related to reviewing law order situation in the province, establishment of state-of-the-art Kidney & liver Centre in Islamabad, increasing the number of merit-based as well as seats for rural Sindh in Sindh Medical University, and also laid the foundation stone of the housing society for the Civil Service Academy Alumni Sindh Chapter.
Giving details of these meetings, Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said the meeting on law & order was attended among others by Acting Governor Sindh Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Federal Interior Minister Mr. A. Rehman Malik, provincial ministers, IG Police, DG Rangers, Secretary General to the President and senior federal and provincial officials.
He said that Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah briefed the President about overall law and order situation especially in the metropolis. Interior Minister Rehman Malik also gave an overview of the security situation.
The Spokesperson said the President taking note of the use of mobile phones by the militants and criminals asked the Government to work out a plan so that no sims are delivered at the retail shops and the outlets of mobile companies and that they are posted to the addresses of the applicant as mentioned in the Computerised National Identity Card. The President directed the Interior Minister to frame draft policy in this regard for the Cabinet’s approval.
The President also advised the Law Minister of the provincial government to work on enacting suitable legislation, in consultation with all stakeholders, for the protection of the witnesses. He observed that one of the reasons hindering effective prosecution was that witnesses backed out due to fear and insecurity. He advised the Government to study the model of witness protection laws adopted in other countries in the wake of rising militant activities for this purpose.
Spokesperson said that the President also took note of proliferation of the arms and weapons in Karachi and observed that the arms licenses should be Smart Card based as to ensure that no fictitious licenses were issued.
He emphasized that maintenance of order was a shared responsibility of all the political forces and concerted efforts should be made by all concerned for ensuring peace in the metropolitan city.
The President emphasized that no effort should be spared in ensuring smooth law and order and no discrimination be made in dispensing justice to the law-violators. He said that maintaining law and order and ensuring safety and security of the citizen was the prime responsibility of the Government and all efforts should be taken in this regard.
Chairing a meeting on the establishment of Pakistan Kidney Institute (PKI) at Islamabad following the public-private partnership model, the President said that public-private partnership model can be successfully followed to overcome the shortage of medical facilities for catering to the growing health needs of a booming population of the country.
Those who were present during this meeting included among others Prof. Dr. Saeed Akhter, Dr. Syed Nayer Mahmud, Dr. Manzoor ul Haq Qazi, CEO & President, Shifa International Hospital and other doctors associated with the project.
Prof. Junaid Zaidi, Rector, COMSATS Institute of Information and Technology, Mian Muhammad Idrees, CEO, Sitara Group of Industries, Mr. Tahir Shamshad, Vice President, NESPAK, Mr. Pervaiz-ul-Haque of Schon Group, Mr. Safdar Awan, CEO, Toyota Motors and Syed Tariq, Consultant, National Testing Service Pakistan were also present during the meeting representing public and private entities. Federal Minister for CA&D Division Mr. Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Mr. M. Salman Faruqui, Secretary General to the President, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar and Mrs. Riffat Shaheen Qazi, Secretary, Capital Administration & Development Division were present during the meeting.
The President said that in view of rising numbers of kidney and urological diseases, there was an urgent need to establish a state of the art institute that could cater to these diseases especially of the poor segments of society who can not afford exorbitant diagnostic and treatment cost involved with such diseases.
In this context the President commending the role of Prof. Dr. Adibul Hasan Rizvi and the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplant (SIUT) in Karachi being the leading institute in this field in the country, remarked that in view of the shortage of such state-of-the art facilities especially for the people of the upper region of the country, there was an urgent need to establish one in the capital city for catering to the growing demands of an increased population.
Spokesperson said that Prof. Dr. Saeed Akhter briefed the President about the feasibility of establishment Pakistan Kidney & Liver Institute in collaboration with COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT). According to the proposal presented before the President today, the Institute is envisioned to be a not-for-profit organization where 50% patients will be paying while 50% beds will be for non paying poor patients. The revenue generated from the paying patients would be utilized in providing relief to the poor patients. It said that in near future, liver services will also be added to Institute. The proposal stated that PKI will work as an independent not-for-profit organization under its board in collaboration with COMSATS.
The meeting was informed that land was available for the establishment of PKI.
Spokesperson said that the President also appreciated the role being played by the doctors of the private sector in the establishment of this center of excellence in urology, nephrology liver diseases and Transplantation.
Senator Babar said that during meeting on Sindh Medical University, the President directed for significantly increasing the number of merit-based as well as seats for student from rural Sindh Medical University so as to provide opportunities to those deserving students who despite talent can not reap the benefits of establishment of University due to limited number of seats.
Those who were present during the meeting included among others Acting Governor Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Dr. Muhammad Farooq Sattar, Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, Dr. Noshad Sheikh, Dr. Tariq Rafi, VC SMU, alumnus of Sindh Medical University and concerned senior officials besides Secretary General to the President Mr. M. Salman Faruqui and Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar.
The President commended the role the University has played so far in imparting medical education to the students. He expressed the hope that the University would continue to undertake every effort to achieve prominence as a leading medical research and teaching university of the country and to producing quality healthcare practitioners imbued with the spirit to serve the humanity. .the President also called upon the provincial government to resolve legislative issues of the SMU.
Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the last meeting in the series was with the Sindh Chapter of Civil Service Academy Alumni wherein the President also laid the foundation of a housing society for the civil servants.
According to the prepared text of the speech, President Zardari observed that an efficient, effective and dedicated civil service could play a decisive role in finding solutions to the issues confronted by the country that continue to haunt us and hinder our progress.
He said civil service was the back bone of the administrative structure of the country and it was the duty of every civil servant to assist the Government in finding solutions to the challenges of administration.
On this occasion, the President recounted various achievements of the present Government and also highlighted various challenges that were being confronted by the nation.
The President in his speech quoted Founder of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam who in his address to the civil servants in March 1948 had advised them to do their duty as true servants of the nation and to be loyal to the Government that is in power. The President said that the words of the great leader are as true and relevant today as they were some sixty four years ago.
He also said that the Government believes in safeguarding the legitimate interests of the civil service of Pakistan and was conscious of the need to attract the best talent in civil services. He said that the Government was also aware of reforming the pay packages of the civil servants, and catering to issues such as transportation and the housing facility in big cities like Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. The President assured the Government would do its best to resolve the problems that stand in the way of a motivated and satisfied civil service.
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