Two doctors among five arrested over illegal organ trade

LAHORE:On the directions of Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique, PHOTA and FIA jointly arrested Muhammad Nadeem from Kasur District, Tayyab Ali and Sharon from Lahore, Babar Masih, Dr Tashbeeb and Dr Abdullah, who were involved in the illegal business of human organ transplantation. Other accused were arrested and cases were registered against them.

According to the details, Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique took notice of the accused involved in human organ, kidney sale and illegal transplantation in District Headquarters Hospital Hafizabad. A patient named Ayub was admitted to DHQ Hospital Hafizabad who later died in the hospital. On inquiry, it was found that an organised group of the patient named Ayub who had taken a private house in Peshawar had transplanted the organ.

Moreover, this group includes Sharon Parvez dialysis technician, Bob Masih main agent, a lab employee Irfan Aslam, Dr Tashbeeb and Dr Abdullah etc. Later, various teams took joint action and arrested five accused involved in case number 264/2024 on the spot.

The health minister said that strict legal action should be taken against the accused involved in kidney sale and illegal transplantation and they should be brought to justice so that such incidents do not happen again in the future.

Ministers promise best healthcare to prisoners

Provincial Health Ministers Khawaja Salman Rafique and Khawaja Imran Nazir jointly chaired a meeting in the Department of Primary and Secondary Healthcare on Thursday to review the measures taken to improve the conditions of hospitals in 43 jails across the province.

Addressing the meeting, Khawaja Imran Nazir said that it is the primary responsibility of the government to provide best health facilities to the prisoners. No sick prisoner should face any problem in terms of treatment. Regular medical check-ups will be ensured in addition to screening of prisoners in Punjab jails, he added.

Khawaja Salman Rafique, on this occasion, said that Punjab govt wanted to provide the best health facilities to the prisoners. We also want to improve the transportation system for transferring sick prisoners from prisons to major hospitals to improve the referral system. Regular visits of consultants will be arranged to ensure the health of prisoners, he added.

Meanwhile, Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique on Thursday said that the recruitment advertisement for the posts of 3,000 charge nurses was published.

Qualified candidates must apply for the post of charge nurse. The recruitment of 3,000 charge nurses by the Punjab government is an important step for the improvement of the nursing sector. Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir said in this regard that after the recruitment of 3,000 charge nurses, it will help to meet the shortage of nurses in DHQ and THQ hospitals in far-flung areas of Punjab. After the recruitment of charge nurses, the quality of treatment in hospitals will also further improve.