Latest news with #ZafarMehmood
Express Tribune
17-07-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Nursing director made dean at LRH
In a controversial move at Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's largest medical facility, Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Peshawar, standard protocols have allegedly been disregarded as the hospital's Nursing Director has been appointed to the key academic and administrative position of Dean. The Board of Governors (BoG) has also handed the additional charge of Medical Director to the Hospital Director, triggering outrage within the doctors' community. Sources confirmed that the BoG issued an official notification relieving Dr Ameer Muhammad (Dean) and Dr Zafar Mehmood (Medical Director) from their posts upon completion of their tenures, reassigning them to their respective faculties. Subsequently, the additional responsibilities were assigned to the Nursing Director and Hospital Director, along with full administrative authority. This decision has raised serious concerns among medical professionals, who argue that such appointments blatantly violate the Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) Act's regulations. According to the rules, the Dean must hold an MBBS degree, an FCPS qualification, a minimum of eight years of experience as a department head, and a professor-level appointment. Similarly, the Medical Director must also be a professor in the medical field. Sources further revealed that the Service Tribunal has already ruled that acting appointments to positions like Medical Director, Hospital Director, Nursing Director, Finance Director, Director HR, and Secretary BoG cannot exceed three months. However, both the Medical Director and Dean roles at LRH had been held on an ad-hoc basis for over two years and one year respectively. Adding to the controversy, LRH had recently suspended 19 doctors. When these doctors challenged the decision in the Service Tribunal, the tribunal reportedly questioned the legality of orders passed by an unlawfully extended Dean. A hospital spokesperson, however, downplayed the matter, stating, "These are routine administrative matters. The Board of Governors regularly makes such decisions as needed."
Express Tribune
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
PPP demands IRSA chairman's resignation over 'water theft'
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has demanded the resignation of Indus River System Authority (IRSA) Chairman Zafar Mehmood over the controversy surrounding the opening of the Taunsa-Panjnad Link Canal in Punjab at a time when Sindh is suffering from a chronic water shortage. PPP's Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro declared in Hyderabad on Thursday that the decision to open the canal is unconstitutional and reflects an utter failure on IRSA's part. He contended that both the Taunsa and Chashma-Jhelum link canals are flood canals, meant to carry water only during the flood season - unlike the prevailing spell of drought. "The IRSA chairman should accept his failure to close these canals, which are operating unlawfully, and tender his resignation," he said. Khuhro argued that the authority has failed to implement the 1991 Water Accord in letter and spirit - stopping the theft of river water and ensuring Sindh receives its rightful share.
