IT is an unfortunate reality in Pakistan that doctors and other health professionals often have to face the wrath of angry attendants in case of death or injury to a patient. A number of such ugly incidents have been reported from Sindh recently, prompting medical professionals to call for the highest offices in the country to intervene and protect them from such violence. Addressing a press conference in Karachi on Friday, doctors belonging to the Pakistan Medical Association and the Ophthalmological Society of Pakistan demanded the prime minister, chief justice, army chief and Sindh chief minister initiate a judicial inquiry and bring elements involved in attacking medical professionals to book. Giving details of the incidents, the doctors said a senior eye specialist at a private hospital in Karachi — said to be one of the few retina specialists left in Pakistan — was attacked by attendants after a procedure allegedly went awry, while doctors were also attacked in Dadu and Ghotki.
Medical negligence is a very serious matter, especially when the death of a patient or disability occurs. However, there can be no justification for attacking medical staff and ransacking hospitals. As doctors have rightly pointed out, protecting medical professionals and probing cases of medical negligence is the job of the Sindh Health Care Commission and its corresponding bodies in other provinces. However, medics say cases of violence are rising because the regulatory body is not doing its job. To prevent this situation from deteriorating, it must be made absolutely clear by the state that violence against health professionals will not be tolerated and that those involved will be punished. Moreover, there should be a well-defined, transparent procedure if allegations of medical negligence do emerge, and doctors found guilty must be penalised. Already Pakistan faces a brain drain. If more doctors and other medical professionals decide to pack up and leave because they want a safer working environment, it will mean greater distress for this country’s fragile health sector.
Beyond Senate poll
THE election for the Senate chairman and deputy chairman on Friday has accentuated the crisis of credibility swirling around Pakistani politics. It has also deepened the fault lines between the government and the opposition and is likely to lead to greater acrimony in the coming weeks. While both slots were won by candidates of the government, the opposition’s refusal to accept the results due to what it says is faulty ruling by the presiding officer rejecting seven votes for their candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani means the election will now be subjected to a gruelling legal battle.
The Senate elections this year have been marred by multiple controversies all leading to a dismal conclusion that political parties are unable, or unwilling, to frame the basic rules of the game and then adhere to them in letter and spirit. The discovery of hidden cameras in the main Senate hall was a travesty that could not have been imagined — and yet it happened in broad daylight for the whole world to see.
The summary rejection of the votes by the presiding officer was also done rather crudely and is now being challenged for reasons that appear to have some weight. The no-holds barred fight between the government and the opposition is wreaking havoc across institutions, processes, traditions, and even the basic values of right and wrong. It paints a picture of a system in peril. It is difficult to visualise how a semblance of normalcy can be returned to our politics and how adversaries can build a basic minimum working relationship. Every day brings new controversies.
The Senate elections also illustrated our inability to hold a simple and straightforward election. A sum total of 100 votes were to be cast in the upper house of parliament and not in some backwater polling station. We could not even manage this with consensus. If this is the state of our electoral capability, how would we be able to hold a national election in the near future? Before that, how will we be able to conduct a local bodies poll that has many times more candidates than a general election? The state of affairs is indeed worrisome and unless some urgent steps are taken to frame a common understanding of how to move forward, we could be heading into an uncertain political future.
The Senate election has however presented an opportunity to both sides to cooperate. The issue of the hidden cameras is to be probed by a committee comprising members from the treasury and opposition benches. These members should get to the bottom of this mystery, identify those responsible and take appropriate action. If they are not willing to even protect the dignity of the house they belong to then it would be hard to imagine how they can shoulder the heavy responsibility of representing an entire nation.
RDA benefits
OVERSEAS Pakistani workers have shown a tremendous interest in the Roshan Digital Account initiative of the State Bank. Pakistanis living and working in 100 countries across the world have so far opened 100,000 accounts to transfer a total sum of $671m back to the country of their origin in almost six months after the initiative was launched by the prime minister. Half of these deposits are said to have been shifted to local banks in the last two months as more non-resident Pakistanis learn about the scheme. The market expects the number of accounts to grow further and RDA deposits to jump to $1bn before the end of the current fiscal on June 30 and to $1.5bn-$2bn by end December, shoring up the country’s weak foreign exchange reserves. Lucrative interest rates compared with the nearly 0pc return they are getting in their host countries as well as the ease of moving their money into and out of Pakistan by clicking on their mobile devices whenever they need to is believed to have contributed significantly to the success of the initiative. In addition, the facility to non-resident Pakistanis to invest in property, government debt papers and the stock market, and to pay online tuition fee or utility bills through their digital accounts must have also served as a huge attraction.
By way of example, non-resident citizens of India as well as China have had a crucial role to play in the economic progress of their home country. They have not only helped by remitting their savings for investments but have also played an important role in changing the world’s perception of their countries, resulting in the inflow of massive foreign direct investment. Overseas Pakistani workers have also been doing much to help their country by contributing to the stability of the nation’s external account via large remittances that are equal to our annual exports. It is regrettable though that it is only now that the government and the central bank have taken steps to facilitate them in moving their savings back home. It is hoped that the success of these digital accounts will encourage the central bank to come up with more initiatives to persuade overseas Pakistanis to invest in the manufacturing industry and other productive segments of the economy in order to enhance growth, create jobs and make up for the drying foreign investment.
