The Punjab government has placed Health Secretary Ali Jan on forced leave following a privilege motion presented against him by treasury lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly.
The move comes after the MPAs expressed their dissatisfaction with his conduct and sought improvements in hospital monitoring across the province.
Consequently, the government has appointed Azmat Mahmood as the new secretary of the specialized healthcare department, while Nadia Saqib has taken over as secretary of primary healthcare department.
Sources reveal that MPAs had made several recommendations to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to improve the monitoring and management of hospitals. They had also lodged complaints against Secretary Ali Jan, accusing him of advising hospital management not to heed their recommendations. He had reportedly directed hospital management to maintain a record of the MPAs' recommendations, which fuelled tensions between him and the elected representatives.
The provincial lawmakers are of the opinion that the health secretary violated the decisions of the chief minister.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had recently entrusted the MPAs with the responsibility of monitoring hospital performance, a move that heightened the friction between them and the health secretary. Ali Jan, who has served as the health secretary for the past 18 months under the caretaker government, had also held the position during the tenure of former Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
Ali Jan stated that he has worked in both the government and development sectors over the last decade and expressed his desire to return to the development sector.
Jan was appointed as the health secretary by the caretaker government, and served on the post for 18 months. He also served on the same position when Shehbaz Sharif was the Punjab chief minister
