District Coordination Officer (DCO) Iftikhar Ali Sahu has suspended 42 Health and Education Department officials including 14 doctors, a headmistress and four teachers for being absent from work.
On Saturday, the DCO raided the Social Security Hospital, Sialkot and suspended Dr Tauqeer Ahmed, Surgeon Muhammad Azam, Child Specialist Irfan Mehmood, Anaesthetist Naveed Ahmed, and Medical Officers Fahad Usman, Hassan Rafiq , Adnan, Saadat Anwar, Usman Tahir, Muneeb Nasir.
He also suspended Surgeon Muhammad Qasim, Physiotherapist Muhammad Ashraf, Admin Officer Farhan Ahmed, steno Pervaiz , store keeper Noor Fatima, telephone operator Fahad Ibrar, ward boy Adnan Arif, drivers Mubarak Ali Tahir Dilshad and Nadeem Shahid, also for being absent without prior notice.
Sahu expressed concern over the absence of said doctors and ordered their immediate suspension. The DCO also raided Basic Health Unit, Kot Bhukraan, in Daska tehsil where he suspended medical officer Dr Muhammad Ashfaq, health technician Asghar Ali, computer operator Adnan, midwife Munazza Kausar, health nutrition supervisor Suhail Yousaf, CDC supervisor Munawar , sanitary inspector Muneebur Rehman, vaccinator Rehmat Ali, leady health worker Keeshana Kausar and dispenser Muhammad Saber. They, too, were suspended for being absent. Later, the DCO visited Government Special Education Centre in Daska and suspended absentee officers Noureen Akhtar, Abdullah Butt, Brian Charlie, Asfand Ali, Mushtaq, Shehzad and Nasir. Teachers Muhammad Afzal, Tanveer Akhtar, Khalid Mehmood and Talib Hussain were also suspended.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2013.