PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday directed the deputy commissioner of Khyber tribal district to release funds to the Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, forthwith for the treatment of around 80 minor thalassaemia patients, who were provided free treatment before the merger of tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Justice Qaiser Rasheed and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan directed an additional secretary of the health department and an official of the directorate of health services to visit the hospital and verify the release of funds by the deputy commissioner and submit a report in this respect today (Friday).

The bench warned that if its orders were not followed, strict action would be taken against the relevant officials.

Warns officials of action over non-compliance with orders

Justice Qaiser Rasheed observed that on one hand, the government had been propagating its much-trumpeted health reforms and Sehat Insaf Card initiative on print and electronic media, but on the other, it had turned a blind eye to the plight of minor thalassaemia patients.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by several residents of Khyber district, who insisted that they were too poor to afford the treatment of their children suffering from thalassaemia.

A petitioner, Salman Khan, told the bench that in the past, the political agent of the erstwhile Khyber Agency used to provide funds to the Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, for the treatment of minor thalassaemia patients.

He, however, said the administration had withheld those funds around six months ago.

The petitioner said he had to take his son after every 15 days for blood transfusion and medication, while the relevant medicines were very expensive, which weren’t affordable for them.

Several of those children accompanied their fathers.

When the bench looked at their condition in the morning, it took exception to the issue and asked Khyber district’s deputy commissioner to show up forthwith.

DC Mahmood Aslam appeared before the bench and said in the past, the administration funded the treatment of around 80 children suffering from thalassaemia from the Endowment Fund of Khyber Agency, while funds were provided to the hematology department of Hayatabad Medical Complex for treatment.

He said in the new administrative setup, which cropped up after the Fata-KP merger, he was not empowered to order the provision of funds for health purposes on his own.

The DC said he had sent a letter to the commissioner of Peshawar division seeking permission for the release of funds from the Endowment Fund.

In reply to a query of the court, the DC said the Endowment Fund had around Rs110 million on which the administration received annual profit, which was used for education and health programmes.

He said 30 per cent of fund amount had to be used for education and 70 percent for healthcare.

The DC requested the bench to allow him to use more funds on healthcare.

He assured the bench that if it issued orders, he would release funds to the hospital forthwith for the treatment of minor thalassaemia patients.

The bench observed that those children belonged to far flung areas and it won’t tolerate any negligence on part of the government in their treatment.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2018