Punjab Health Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique skipped scheduled visits to public sector health facilities in Multan on Friday, choosing to attend a wedding ceremony instead with his official cavalcade comprising multiple SUVs and police vehicles.

 

According to reports, the minister's office issued an official alert on Thursday to the Multan commissioner, regional police officer, deputy commissioner, city police officer and information officer, notifying them about his official tour.

 

"Punjab Health Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique will proceed on an official tour to Multan as per the schedule/programme given in the letter," the notification stated.

 

The Punjab Health Department mentioned official vehicles, including GBK-313 (Fortuner) and GBK-434 (Double Cabin), in the letter for senior officers to arrange protocol.

 

According to the official schedule, the minister was scheduled to depart from Lahore at 8:30am and reach the Circuit House in Multan at 12 noon. He was supposed to visit Nishtar Medical University at 1pm, Nishtar Hospital at 2pm, Nishtar Hospital-2 at 3pm and leave for Lahore at 4pm on Friday.

 

Officials at NMU and the attached government hospitals confirmed that the minister did not visit any of the scheduled locations. Instead, he attended a wedding ceremony before returning to Lahore.

 

The visit attracted strong criticism on social media after pictures of the minister with the doctor went viral. Critics accused him of misusing official resources for a private trip. Multan sits 340km south from Lahore.

 

The controversy deepened when it emerged that the wedding was of the the son of a doctor recently held guilty of gross negligence in a medicines theft case and awarded a major penalty under the PEEDA Act.

 

However, Khwaja Salman Rafique defended himself, saying that as a political figure, nothing bars him from attending private ceremonies.

 

"Though I didn't visit the NMU and attached hospitals in Multan as per the officially announced schedule, I held some meetings at Circuit House which were related to health issues," the minister said.

 

"I spent a busy day in Multan where I attended a private marriage party and met many people being a politician," he added.

 

The minister claimed that certain elements involved in corrupt practices in the health sector were trying to make his official tour controversial. "I will keep hammering them for looting public funds for their vested interests," he warned.