The recent visit by CJP to a private hospital in DHA Lahore exposes gross irregularities and fleecing of patients by its management. It also sheds light on sad state of affairs and role of this statutory housing society and its utter disregard for welfare of residents, most of them civilians, whose taxes pay for running this profitable organization. In gross violations of State laws this hospital charges patients in US Dollars. There are numerous allegations of unethical practices and overcharging patients. If you check records of DHA Lahore, land is allotted to hospitals, schools and colleges at subsidized rates. 

It is an unfortunate reality that the State has outsourced its primary obligations to provide basic health and education for citizens to private sector and then failed to regulate these fundamental activities so vital for development of human resources. One fails to understand why these subsidiary housing societies belonging to tax free foundation are involved in unchecked commercial activities, totally oblivious and free from regulatory control of government agencies, when it is no longer solely confined to welfare of retired uniformed services personnel. 

The irony is that majority beneficiaries of such commercial ventures are expatriate dual nationals, who show it as Direct Foreign Investment and then remit their earnings abroad to countries whose nationality they have. Pakistan which has declining foreign reserves, should rethink this policy of outsourcing such basic activities like health, education, solid waste management etc to foreign owned companies who then legally transfer their earnings back to foreign countries where these investors are based. 

MALIK TARIQ ALI,  

Lahore, October 1.