Amid the political turmoil in Pakistan, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has declared an emergency in all public hospitals, local media reported on Saturday. According to a report by a bilingual news channel, ARY News, the decision has been taken ahead of no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
As per the official notification, the administration has imposed an emergency in all public hospitals of the national capital from March 26 till April 3. It also cancelled the leaves of all the medical staff including PIMS, Polyclinic and CDA hospital.
Notably, the incumbent government has been facing turbulence for the last few days as the Opposition has sought a no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan-led government. However, the government has got two more days as the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan was adjourned to March 28, as a result of which Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has intensified efforts to woo its allies.
Meanwhile, the media report stated that the Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid chaired a high-level meeting with the hospital management to review the law and order situation ahead of public gatherings in the national capital. After the meeting, Rashid informed that medical and paramedical staff will not be given any leave during this period.
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“Public movement should not be affected due to the public gatherings in Islamabad. I directed the local administration to ensure that the public gatherings will be held at their venues safely,” ARY News quoted Rashid as saying.
It is worth mentioning that the Pakistani National Assembly has a total strength of 342 members, with the majority mark being 172. The PTI-led coalition was formed with the support of 179 members, with Imran Khan’s PTI having 155 members, and four major allies MQM-P, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) having seven, five, five and three members respectively.