Mustafa Kamal dodges resignation question amid PIMS crisis

Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has declined to give a direct answer when asked whether he had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister

Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has declined to give a direct answer when asked whether he had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

During an interview on a current affairs programme, host Hamid Mir asked Kamal whether he had personally sent a handwritten resignation to the prime minister the previous day and whether the premier had declined to accept it.

Kamal responded by questioning why he was being asked if the information was already known. When the host suggested that the prime minister should be asked about the matter, Kamal said the source from which the information had emerged should be contacted instead.

The federal minister said he wished he could disclose all the details surrounding the resignation issue, including what steps had been taken and what had not.

He also criticised what he described as political pressure over the issue of administrative units, saying the Pakistan Peoples Party had strongly reacted to the matter.

Kamal made a blunt remark about his position in the federal cabinet, saying he placed little importance on holding a ministry if public safety and governance issues remained unresolved.

He said he would prefer to return to Karachi if political opponents wanted him to leave the federal government.

The minister argued that if he returned to Karachi, criticism of the provincial government’s performance would increase. He said even a short stay in the city led to discussions about poor governance, adding that a longer stay could prompt calls for his return to Karachi.

Kamal also referred to the Gul Plaza fire tragedy, in which 72 people lost their lives, and questioned whether Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah or Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab had resigned following the incident.

He said he would not accept a position that prevented him from speaking out about issues affecting ordinary people.

Turning to the recent tragedy at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the health minister said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a committee to investigate the incident.

Kamal clarified that no other committee had been constituted by the government for the PIMS incident.

He said the investigation committee had been given clear terms of reference and was expected to submit its report by Thursday evening.

The minister added that the government would implement the committee’s recommendations in full once the findings were submitted.