LAHORE – Tension is running high between Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid and a top government official due to the ongoing conflict over reforms in the health sector.
Rashid seeks the merger of the Punjab specialised healthcare and medical education as well as primary and secondary health departments into one but the Secretary Health Saqib Zafar opposed the plan, causing a dispute with the minister.
According to sources, the provincial health minister a few days ago announced the merger and directed the secretary to issue a notification in this regard.
However, the bureaucrat tried to convince the minister that the plan could not be realised as the bifurcation of the health department, which was made by the previous government in October 2015, has legal status.
He advised Rashid to form a committee for resolving the issue but the minister took the matter to Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.
Buzdar called a meeting of the health department where the secretary apprised him over the legal technicalities and succeeded in pursuing the chief minister.
After the Punjab CM threw weight behind Zafar, the health minister went annoyed and said that she will take up the matter with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
To which, the chief minister ordered the formation of a high-level committee to put forward the suggestion, soothing the health minister.
However, the committee has not been set up so far as the health secretary has not issued a notification in this regard.
