The Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) became fully operational on Saturday.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said the emergency of the PIC has been made operational again. He said after the restoration of emergency, provision of healthcare facilities to the patients has again started. The chief minister said the Punjab government has decided to make legislation for providing security to the doctors, paramedical staff and hospital buildings. He said the Health Professionals Security Bill will be presented in the next meeting of the cabinet for approval. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid also confirmed that the hospital is fully operational once again. “PIC fully functional again with medical staff back to work. The lives of those dependent on these facilities is so crucial, we couldn’t spare even a moment’s delay,” she tweeted. PIC Medical Superintendents Dr Ameer told reporters that the machines that were vandalized by the lawyers have been replaced, adding that the doctors who had been on a strike after Wednesday’s attack have also returned to work. The hospital had suffered a loss of Rs 70 million in the attack.
Meanwhile, Lahore police raided a farmhouse owned by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s nephew Hassaan Niazi on Saturday morning.
This was the second raid conducted to arrest the lawyer. His house in Lahore was raided on Friday but Hassaan wasn’t at home. He wasn’t there during the raid on the Raiwind farmhouse either.
He has been named in the case against lawyers who attacked the Punjab Institute of Cardiology on December 11. He has been specifically implicated in a case involving the torching of a police van. The Lahore police chief on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting to chalk out strategy for the arrest of the lawyers involved in attack on the PIC. The meeting agreed to take stern action against the law violators.
