Karachi (Digital Posts) Controversial Administrative Decision at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Facilities for influential individuals, difficulties for poor patients?

Karachi (Digital Posts) Karachi An administrative decision at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) has sparked serious concern among the public and civil society. According to an official order issued on 28 January 2026, Dr. Muhammad Waqas Riaz Khan, who already holds key positions as CMO, PRO, and Media Coordinator, has been appointed as the focal person for the admission and diagnostic examinations of patients referred by senior authorities.
The order directs all departments and unit heads to extend full cooperation to the designated focal person. However, the decision has raised serious questions as to whether this arrangement is genuinely meant to facilitate the general public or is primarily designed to benefit influential and recommended individuals.
According to sources and citizen groups, patients who approach the focal person with references from senior officials, influential figures, or under political pressure receive immediate attention. In contrast, poor and ordinary patients who arrive without recommendations or influence are forced to make endless rounds of hospital counters, wards, and offices, with no one to attend to their concerns.
Health experts warn that such arrangements create a dual system (double standard) in public hospitals—one where doors remain open for the influential, while ordinary citizens struggle even to obtain basic medical treatment. This practice not only violates medical ethics but also constitutes a clear breach of the constitutional right to equality.
Citizens, social activists, and human rights organizations have demanded that the Government of Sindh and the Health Department take immediate notice of this decision, clearly define the scope and procedure of the focal person system, and ensure that treatment at Jinnah Hospital and all other public institutions is provided strictly on the basis of medical need and merit, rather than political recommendation or influence