Bank Accounts belonging to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre and NAMAL University, reportedly came under financial freeze!
Recent developments have sent ripples in the country’s healthcare and education sectors. On orders of the Anti-Terrorism Court, some bank accounts belonging to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Pakistan’s premier cancer hospital, as well as some accounts linked with NAMAL University, reportedly came under financial freeze.
The move — apparently part of broader judicial measures against Aleema Khan and her financial network — has sent shockwaves across communities reliant on these institutions.
Dire Claims: Lives and Futures at Stake
Those raising the alarm maintain this is not just a procedural formality. The freezing of these accounts, says Aleema Khan’s counsel Faisal Malik, means that it jeopardizes lives – those of patients receiving life-saving medicines, as also students whose education depends on funding. He warned that the blockage has left essential medicines stranded at the port for lack of payment. Under such circumstances, hundreds of patients may face a real risk.
It’s a grim calculus: when charity institutions and educational centers lose access to funds, it is not up to politics to be the executioner of human life. Medicines, treatments, and academic support-all hang in balance.
This is not hyperbole. For many patients at SKMCH — where an overwhelming number of people receive free or subsidized treatment — even a minor delay in medicine procurement may prove disastrous. Similarly, at NAMAL University, students genuinely committed to their education may find academic aspirations out of reach if the institution itself grinds to a halt.
Institutions Speak: Reassurance in the Midst of Uncertainty
SKMCH’s management came out with a damage-control statement, saying that only a ‘limited number’ of its bank accounts have been restricted. The “vast majority” remain fully operational and continue to receive donations.
Importantly, the hospital declared that patient care and treatment services are still uninterrupted. Admitting to the freeze, SKMCH officials said they hoped to have the affected accounts restored “at the earliest.”
Still, these reassurances can be cold comfort for those relying on urgent medicine supply or financial aid.
When Institutions Become Collateral in a Political Game
This is a stark realization: when politics becomes polarized, some of the most essential public-benefit institutions sometimes become collateral damage. Freezing accounts, apparently linked to litigation against a political figure, runs the risk of punishing those patients, students, donors, and ordinary citizens who use these services.
If charities, hospitals, and educational institutions lose operational stability because of political-legal battles, then the true victims are not the accused or political opponents but common people. Human lives and dashed hopes become the “cost” of such moves.
Critics say human life can never be sacrificed in the name of politics. When institutions that are meant to heal-or to educate-are stifled by legal or political measures, the very social safety net of the nation begins to unravel.
A Call to Collective Conscience: Voices Must Rise
This is a moment that requires more than headlines; it requires conscience. On behalf of the cancer patients who are waiting for lifesaving drugs, on behalf of students who are trying to pursue their future — the accounts must be unfrozen immediately.
Public and civil-society voices must come together to press for immediate restoration of banking access. The authorities should ensure that the necessary medicines released from the ports, treatment is continued, and educational services remain unaffected.
Human dignity and hope should not become collateral damage in any kind of political or judicial fray. When charities and educational institutes are under siege, so is public trust, and above all, people’s lives. It’s time to raise our voice.
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