Karachi: Amidst concerns over inadequate healthcare services for the impoverished, Altaf Shakoor, Chairman of the Pasban Democratic Party, has called for the establishment of additional emergency medical facilities across Karachi to alleviate the strain on existing government hospitals.

According to Pasban Democratic Party, Shakoor emphasized the urgent need for more freestanding emergency medical centers in Karachi, particularly in underserved areas. He pointed out the severe burden on the three main government hospitals—Jinnah, Abbasi Shaheed, and Civil Hospitals—and criticized the operations of private hospitals that have failed to serve the public despite receiving government land and support. Shakoor also suggested a forensic audit of these private entities accused of exploiting the system under the guise of being welfare hospitals.

The demand extends to the construction of new tertiary care hospitals on an emergency basis and the establishment of freestanding emergency rooms throughout the city. Shakoor highlighted the long-standing reliance of Karachi’s residents on limited healthcare facilities and condemned the government’s lack of initiative in opening new specialized hospitals or upgrading existing ones. This neglect, he argued, has left millions in sprawling suburbs without adequate public healthcare access, compounded by the prohibitively high costs of private medical care.