Tag: Shaukat Khanum Hospital

  • Govt withdraws NOC for fund-raising event for Shaukat Khanum

    Govt withdraws NOC for fund-raising event for Shaukat Khanum

    The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has revoked the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) granted to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, prohibiting them from hosting a fundraising event at a local hotel in Islamabad.

    The event, scheduled for Friday, aimed to gather support for the construction of a cancer facility in Karachi.

    The NOC, initially issued by the district administration, was withdrawn without providing any reasons for the sudden decision.

    The fundraising gala dinner, featuring a musical concert, was intended to generate funds for the development of the largest cancer treatment facility in the country.

    Despite efforts by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Faisal Sultan and other officials to secure permission, their attempts proved unsuccessful.

    The Shaukat Khanum Hospital official emphasized that the fundraising initiative was non-political and solely aimed at charitable purposes.

    Despite efforts to seek clarity on the reasons behind the NOC cancellation, the hospital administration formally announced the cancellation of the fundraising gala dinner late on Thursday.

    They cited “unavoidable reasons” for the cancellation and assured that a new date for the event would be announced soon.

    Social Media users started a trend on X (former Twitter) “Shaukat Khanum” and started urging people to donate online.

    “I’ve just made a donation to SKMH. I request all Pakistanis to do the same, even if it’s just a few Rupees. Let’s raise more money than the fundraising event canceled or refused for Shaukat Khanum. Save this hospital. Kindly share the screenshots.”

    “#SMS 7770
    Strong reaction to the cancellation of the permission of Shaukat Khanum Hospital Karachi,s Fundraising event by the caretaker government. Now social media users launched a compaign to send SMS to 7770.”

  • ‘My eldest son always wanted me out of politics’: Imran Khan

    ‘My eldest son always wanted me out of politics’: Imran Khan

    Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former Prime Minister has said in an interview that his life was in danger and he received immense death threats when he was campaigning against the incumbent government that was “imposed on the nation”.

    Talking to British television presenter Piers Morgan, he said, “I came into politics to fight these two families. When they brought them back through a conspiracy and imposed them on us, I decided that I was not going to sit at home.”

    The former premier again named PM Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and an intelligence officer as the conspirators behind the assassination attempt on him in Wazirabad. He urged Chief Justice (CJ) Umar Ata Bandial to look into the matter.

    Talking about slain journalist Arshad Sharif, he said, “He was hounded out of Pakistan, and the same intelligence officers were involved”.

    Narrating the firing incident, the PTI chief said the firing of shots sounded like firecrackers. “It felt like a burning sensation”, Khan recalled.

    He again claimed that there were two shooters at the scene who attacked him.

    Khan said that it took him two hours after the attack to reach Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Lahore from Wazirabad.

    “I went to the hospital after a two hours drive, and the moment I got there I spoke to my sons and of course to my wife. My wife was remarkable. The fact I was safe, she was relieved but my boys were worried.”

    Imran disclosed that his eldest son [Sulaiman] always differed with his decision to join politics. “He was quite worried when I was shot”, he said.

    “Sulaiman is very sensitive, he always wanted me to out of politics,” Imran said.

    “The moment my legs heal, I am going to be out again,” Khan said, during the interview. He claimed that he could be attacked again.

    “People are so worried in my country, I never had this feeling before because they know the guys who missed this time, they would try again,” Khan added.

    He also said that his party [PTI] is going to sweep elections this time.

    The PTI chief said his remarks about the significance of Pakistan’s ties with the United States (US) had always been clear.

    “It’s a superpower,” Imran said in response to a question. He underlined that it was unthinkable that one would not want to have good ties with the US.

    “I have only one issue. Pakistan-US relationships have been like a transactional master-slave relationship. We degrade ourselves, I think we allow ourselves to be used like a tissue paper,” he stressed.

    He said he wanted a relationship that mirrors the one that the USA has with India.

    Commenting on the election of Rishi Sunak as the first-Indian origin British PM, Imran said he was surprised at his election.

    “I must confess that I never thought that a day would come that Britain would be ready for an Indian-origin PM,” Imran said.

  • High Court seeks answer from PM Khan in defamation case against Khawaja Asif

    High Court seeks answer from PM Khan in defamation case against Khawaja Asif

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a notice to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan seeking his response in a defamation case against Khawaja Asif over the PML-N leader’s allegations about misappropriation of funds of Shaukat Khanam Memorial Trust, reports Dawn.

    In the hearing, Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Minallah inquired for how long this case of defamation was lingering in the court? The Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Mohammad Adnan confessed that the delay was from both sides [PM Khan and Asif].

    Back in 2012, the premier had filed the defamation suit against Asif for recovery of Rs10 billion as the latter at a press conference levelled allegations about misappropriation of and money laundering through the Shaukat Khanam funds.

    Earlier, Imran Khan said he was the biggest individual donor of the Shaukat Khanam Hospital from 1991 to 2009. He said baseless allegations were made to undermine people’s confidence in the trust hospital.

    PML-N leader challenged the legality of the statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan recorded through a video link in a defamation suit

    The hearing was adjourned to January 12.

  • PM Imran wishes Women’s Day to Bushra Bibi, shares pictures of mother and wife

    Prime minister Imran Khan celebrated Women’s Day by sharing pictures of the two important women in his life.

    Posting pictures of his late mother Shaukat Khanum and wife Bushra Bibi, PM Khan wrote: “Happy Women’s Day.”

    Imran Khan was the only son of his mother. In 1985 he lost her to cancer and in 1994 set up Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital Lahore in memory of her.

    Meanwhile, PM Khan married Bushra Bibi in 2018, a few months before his party won the elections. Earlier, PM Imran had said that he could not have survived without his wife Bushra Bibi who is his soulmate and has great wisdom, adding that he discusses everything with her.

  • Looking back at Princess Diana visit to Pakistan

    Looking back at Princess Diana visit to Pakistan

    Twenty-five years ago, Princess Diana’s controversial BBC interview sent shockwaves through the royal family, in which she confessed that “there were three in the marriage”. That interview is now back in focus as season four of the hit series “The Crown” has everyone talking about the princess and her marriage. The series is featured on Diana’s character and the love triangle is one of the main storylines in the new season and the love for Diana is now renewed. Everyone wants more of the princess and for Pakistanis, how can we forget her visit to Pakistan?

    She visited Pakistan more than once in her short life period – once in 1991, and then again in 1996 and 1997. 

    Princess Diana in Pakistan: Throwback shots of Prince William's mother visiting the country in the 1990s | London Evening Standard
    Princess Diana Visiting Kinnaird College For Women In Lahore, Pakistan in September 1991

    In 1991, she made her first official solo trip to Pakistan. Her bodyguard at the time, Ken Wharfe, released a book about his experiences working for the Princess, in which he described her Pakistan tour as hugely positive.

    “The headlines screamed that Diana had taken Pakistan by storm, that her visit had been a resounding success,” wrote Wharfe, “the tabloids predictably hailed her vociferously as the jewel in the royal family’s crown”.

    Princess Diana in traditional attire during her visit to Pakistan

    Her first visit lasted four days, in which she dined with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and visited various places including Badshahi Mosque and Kinnaird College, a family welfare center in Islamabad and Khyber Rifles in Khyber Pakhtunkhua.

    Five years later, she returned to Pakistan at Imran Khan’s invitation for the fund-raising of Pakistan’s first charity cancer hospital, Shaukat Khanum. Diana was accompanied by Lady Annabel Goldsmith, the mother of Khan’s wife at the time, Jemima Khan. Diana spent the rest of her trip visiting sick children and attending other fundraising events.

    Princess Diana with Imran Khan and Jemima Khan, infront of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital in Lahore

    As a focal person in the construction of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, she visited Pakistan again to attend the opening ceremony of the hospital. This was her final trip to Pakistan, before her death in a tragic car crash in Paris.

    Watch the previous royal visits to Pakistan
  • Shaukat Khanum CEO made special assistant to PM Imran on health

    Shaukat Khanum CEO made special assistant to PM Imran on health

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has appointed Dr Faisal Sultan, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, as his special assistant on national health services, regulations and coordination, a statement issued by his office said on Monday.

    “Dr Faisal Sultan shall hold status of federal minister,” read a tweet by the government.

    Dr Sultan, who also serves as the PM’s focal person on COVID-19, will replace Dr Zafar Mirza, who had resigned last week.

    A consultant physician on medicine and infectious diseases, Dr Sultan completed his graduation from Lahore’s King Edward Medical College University (KEMU) in 1987. He also holds the postgraduate degrees of Diplomate American Board of Internal Medicine (1992) and Diplomate American Board of Infectious Disease (1994).

    Reacting to his successor’s appointment, Dr Mirza said: “I am very pleased about the appointment of Dr Faisal Sultan as SAPM health. As [a] federal minister he will be able to make decisions which [are] important.”

    Dr Mirza, who reports claimed had been told to resign from office, termed Dr Sultan “a capable professional with a good worldview” and a good friend, wishing him success in his new role.

  • Hafeez, who tested positive for coronavirus at PCB, tests negative at private lab a day later

    A day after testing positive for coronavirus at Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mohammad Hafeez says he has tested negative at a private facility.

    On Tuesday, Hafeez was announced as one of ten Pakistani national cricket team players who tested positive for the virus as the entire 29-man squad due to fly out to England on June 28 underwent COVID-19 testing.

    Hafeez, however, got himself tested from a different lab in Lahore for a “second opinion” for him and his family. That result, he said in a tweet, was negative.

    https://twitter.com/MHafeez22/status/1275689746765840395

    All of PCB’s tests were conducted by Shaukat Khanum Laboratory.

    Other players who tested positive for the virus include Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, and Wahab Riaz.

    Apart from the seven players, one support personnel — the masseur — also contracted the illness after the cricket body had 35 tests carried out for COVID-19 in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar.

    Pakistan’s Test and limited-overs squads will tour England for three Tests and three T20 internationals.

    England director of cricket Ashley Giles has said that the tour is expected to go ahead.

  • COVID-19: Doctors accuse govt of providing free test kits to Shaukat Khanum but not public hospitals

    As the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — continues to spread in Punjab, Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) has accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of providing free test kits to Shaukat Khanum Hospital but not public sector hospitals.

    Addressing a press conference in Lahore, YDA office demanded safety kits for the entire staff of hospitals dealing with suspected coronavirus patients, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, and termed the arrangements made by the government as insufficient.

    They said that the safety kits provided to the doctors in hospitals were not according to the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and they were working under highly vulnerable circumstances. “The N95 masks are not available in the hospitals despite the fact that the staff treating [COVID-19] patients used the same mask in all hospitals worldwide,” the doctors said.

    President of YDA Punjab Dr Salman Haseeb Chaudhry said that the isolation wards should be established outside the hospitals according to the guidelines of the WHO. “The isolation wards inside the hospitals are high risk,” he said, adding that there was an urgent need of 4,500 ventilators in hospitals to deal with the pandemic but unfortunately Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid had “failed miserably to deal with it”.

    He also accused the government of providing free test kits to Shaukat Khanum Hospital.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “But public sector hospitals are unable to get the same by the government.”

    According to Dr Salman, all doctors, nurses and paramedics were working in very vulnerable circumstances without proper safety kits and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan would be responsible if any unfortunate incident took place.

    Meanwhile, The Express Tribune quoted an official of Shaukat Khanum Hospital as saying that around two dozen citizens approached the hospital for free coronavirus test, of whom the hospital management has conducted tests of eight or nine individuals who had recent travel history, while the remaining citizens were sent back after prescribing medicines.

    He said that the hospital had a limited number of coronavirus test kits that cannot be used for every citizen who has doubt of the infection. Responding to a question, he indicated that the government has notified coronavirus test rate of Rs7,900 but it is being conducted free of cost.

    A representative of a laboratory disclosed that it also has a coronavirus test facility against payment of Rs7,900 as notified by the government. However, several citizens complained that some private hospitals were charging over Rs9,000 for the same test.

    It is pertinent to note that that government has notified 14 laboratories for coronavirus tests, one of which is Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, Lahore.