Imran Khan Bans Overseas Treatment of Govt Officials & Ministers on Public Expense!

The Prime Minister on Thursday evening, made a decision to ban all overseas treatment of government officials, ministers and cabinet members on governments expense. This decision was taken in a cabinet meeting, however a similar announcement was made by Federal Information Minister, Fawad Chaudhary after the first cabinet meeting held on August 24. 

The ban is a part of the government’s austerity drive which PTI and its leader Imran Khan had emphasized before and during the election campaigns.

Credit: Dunya Blog

This ban tackles one of the most important aspects of Pakistani society, healthcare. There is a sheer lack of well trained doctors, hospitals and medical resources. Government hospitals are few in number with most of them lacking in basic infrastructure. Thus, it takes months for patients to get the treatment that is required, while a majority of them go untreated.

So the question arises; how can we expect government officials, who are responsible to provide health care to the masses, to take this issue seriously if they themselves are not using the same substandard medical infrastructure? This ban would most definitely motivate some to take steps to improve health care conditions not only for themselves but the general public as well. 

Since forming the government earlier this year, PTI has taken several austerity measures including the sale of dozens of government vehicles, opening governor houses to the public, extending public office hours, decreasing the PM house staff and banning government officials from taking foreign trips on public funds. 

In addition to these, further steps are expected by the government to curb corruption, increase accountability and control the losses of government owned institutions.