KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that there is a clear split in Supreme Court, and we want it to abide by the constitution and hope that the court would understand the gravity of the situation that emerged after the arrest of Imran Khan in which defence and civil installations were brutally attacked.

This he said while talking to media just after performing the inauguration ceremony of the Sindh Institute of Advance Endoscopy and Gastroenterology (SIAG) established at Civil Hospital, Karachi.

Mr. Shah, to a question, said that the split among the Supreme Court judges was being counted at 8-7 or 9-7 which was unprecedented, but it has a deep root cause which according to him was the extra-constitutional decisions given by the court. As a result, a crisis-like situation has emerged.

The CM said that the law-and-order situation was created under a preplanned conspiracy on May 9, 2023. “What happened in the city of Karachi was much less than the cities of the other provinces of the country but even then, Shahrahe-e-Faisal was giving a battleground look where a Rangers Check post, a police mobile, Peoples Bus, two water board Bousers, and various trees war set on fire apart from damaging other public and private properties,” he recalled and added that we controlled the situation.

Murad Ali Shah said that the culprits involved in violence and arson have been identified through CCTV and some of them have been arrested and some others have gone underground but we are committed to bringing them to book. He urged the judiciary to support the government in establishing the rule of the law.

Mr. Shah said that the miscreants not only attacked Jinnah House [now Corps commander House- Lahore] but set it on fire. They also burnt the memorial warplane through which M.M Alam had set a world record of shooting down five Indian planes in a minute in the 1965 war. “This was such an abhorring act that Indians could not do but our so-called political workers did,” he deplored.

He said each and every person involved in damaging public and private property, national memorials, and important installations would not only be arrested but he would be taken to task.

The CM said that it was only Imran Khan arrested through a NAB warrant but the former president of Pakistan, former prime ministers, and the sitting speaker [of Sindh assembly] were arrested by the Nab but none of them instigated their workers to attack the installations and burn the buses and police mobiles. He hoped that the judiciary would realize the situation and said he has heard that the split in the judiciary has scored from six to `seven-nine’ and hoped it would reach 15 to zero.

Mr. Shah said that it was the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold free and free elections in the country. He added that the entire thrust was on holding an election only in Punjab but not in the KPK.

Inauguration of Endoscopy and Gastroenterology Institute:

Speaking at the Inauguration ceremony of the Sindh Institute of Advance Endoscopy and Gastroenterology (SIAG) at Civil Hospital, The chief minister congratulated Prof Saad Khalid Niaz and his team for achieving this historic milestone in the field of advanced endoscopy. He also thanked the philanthropists who supported the project.

The CM said that his government firmly believed that affordable, high-quality health care was the basic privilege of every citizen. “It is not only ethically and socially imperative but also a necessary ingredient for the sustainable long-term development of our economies and society,” he said and added that the foremost challenge of the health system was to provide effective health coverage and equal access to medical services for all.

Mr. Shah said that when people have to pay for health care out of their pockets, they may delay or relinquish necessary treatments and risk becoming impoverished, especially by chronic diseases which require long-term care.

Liver and Gastrointestinal diseases are one of the leading causes of illness and death in our country and interventional and advanced endoscopic procedures are not only lifesaving but save patients from major invasive surgical procedures alleviating their pain and suffering, Murad Shah said and added that considering our social strata, a large number of patients were unable to receive endoscopic treatment due to the high costs, lack of availability, and expertise.

The CM said that the allocation of funds by the Sindh government along with support from philanthropists has paved the way for the development of the Sindh Institute of Advance Endoscopy and Gastroenterology, SIAG.

Mr Shah said that these services were started in 2006 in Surgical Ward 4 and have finally converted into the first-ever Advance Endoscopy facility providing high-quality services in the province and the whole country.

According to the CM, the SIAG is at par with the world’s best in structure services and equipment. It has also introduced the treatment of Pancreatic stones through a dedicated ESWL machine for the first time in Pakistan and second in this region.

Murad Shah said that he has been told that Pancreatic stones were more common in our part of the world and a very painful condition affecting children and adults. He added that SIAG, like other institutions supported by the Sindh government, would provide treatment through a state-of-the-art facility, extend such services to other districts like NICVD, and train the future generation of endoscopists comparable to international centers.

Minister Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho speaking on the occasion said that the Service Hospital was underutilized, and its space could be used for the expansion of the civil Hospital’s OPD and other facilities.

Speaking on the occasion, Executive Director Prof Saad Khalid Niaz said that in 2019 the chief minister advised him to establish the institute in the civil hospital and had assured him of financial support when he had contacted him for establishing the institute.

He recalled that the CM had given Rs200 million for the institute and the work was started. “Since the building was old and heritage, therefore it caused serious problems in its renovation,” he recalled and added he again contacted the CM for financial assistance, and he gave him Rs400 million.

Architect Shahid Abdullah recalled the days when he started renovation work of this heritage building for establishing the institute. He said he had a plan to renovate the entire Civil Hospital Building.

Vice Chancellor Dow University took up the issue of improving, renovating, and overhauling the civil hospital. Mr. Paul of the UK who attended the inauguration ceremony said that he could not forget the temperature and hospitality of the people of Karachi. Earlier, the CM cut the ribbon to inaugurate the institute and then visited the facility.