Punjab Assembly Speaker Parvez Elahi has expressed grave concerns at a six-month delay in the release of approved funds for Wazirabad Institute of Cardiology.

More than 200 heart patients are in dire need of surgery while the delay in funds release has been adding to administrative woes, the speakers said while chairing a meeting on the institute funds on Monday.

Such a sluggishness has been bringing bad name to the ruling PTI, he said. The assembly should be closed if it fails to get its decisions enforced, the speaker said.

He questioned why the budget passed, what the Punjab government was doing.

He took a jibe at the finance committee for creating hurdles in such schemes.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is too an admirer of this public healthcare facility Parvez said, adding that the matter was raised with the chief minister but to no avail.

Parvez Elahi launched the project in his term as chief minister of Punjab (2002-2008) but it fell prey to ‘political negligence’.