ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Saturday refused to retain control of Karachi’s three major health facilities — Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC), National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and National Institute of Child Health (NICH).
The federal government had taken control of the port city’s three major hospitals in May following Supreme Court orders.
The federal cabinet has directed to the health ministry to contact the attorney general and law minister on file review plea in Supreme Court.
In January, the apex court rejected a set of appeals, including one filed by the Sindh government, claiming the ownership of three major hospitals in Karachi in the wake of devolution of the health sector under the 18th Amendment. Therefore, according to the decision, the control of the three hospitals continued to remain with the federal government.
After the June 12 federal budget, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also slammed the government for taking charge of the Karachi hospitals but not allocating the required budget for them.
The Sindh government and the health institutions had pleaded before the apex court that since the subject of health had been devolved to the provinces under the 18th Amendment, the management of JPMC, NICVD and NICH vested with the Sindh government.
