KARACHI: The Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation (SIUT) has acquired Regent Plaza, a four-star hotel in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, to convert it into a health care facility to expand its free-of-cost services for patients, an SIUT trustee said on Sunday.
Founded by philanthropist and distinguished surgeon Dr. Syed Adibul Hasan Rizvi, SIUT stands as Pakistan’s foremost center for treatment of kidney-related diseases, providing free services such as dialysis and transplantation to patients who come from across the country.
Originally established as the urology department of Karachi’s Civil Hospital in 1970, SIUT attained autonomous status in 1991. The institute presently conducts up to 12 transplants weekly and achieved a milestone in 2003 by performing Pakistan’s inaugural liver transplant.
The Regent Plaza hotel occupies a prime location on the city’s main thoroughfare, Shahrah-e-Faisal, spanning an area of 13,200 square yards with a total covered area of 47,034 square yards. Last October, the hotel management informed investors of SIUT’s Rs14.5 billion offer to purchase it and on Saturday, the hotel’s face board was replaced with that of SUIT’s.
“With this new facility, we will add 1,000 beds to SIUT and this branch will offer all services,” Syed Shabbar Zaidi, an SIUT trustee, told Arab News on Sunday, emphasizing that acquiring a space on Shahrah-e-Faisal will provide easier access to patients.
The building, according to Regent Plaza official website, has 440 luxurious guest rooms, including presidential, executive and business suites, besides various other categories of rooms.
Asked about potential traffic snarl-ups due to the hotel’s conversion into a hospital, Zaidi said they would provide an alternate entrance to ensure a smooth flow of traffic on Shahrah-e-Faisal, a signal-free thoroughfare that connects the Karachi airport with the city’s main business hub and is frequented by hundreds of thousands of people daily.
“We will establish an entrance from another direction, eliminating any traffic disruptions,” he said.
The SIUT trustee emphasized that the hotel’s building was an ideal space and acquiring it would be highly beneficial for patients.
“With increased capacity, we will accommodate more patients while ensuring easily accessible facilities,” he added.
Pakistan’s free kidney hospital acquires four-star hotel in Karachi to expand services
https://arab.news/ymt9k
Pakistan’s free kidney hospital acquires four-star hotel in Karachi to expand services
- Trustee Shabbar Zaidi says SIUT will add 1,000 beds for patients after the acquisition of Regent Plaza hotel
- The building, a landmark located on the city’s main thoroughfare, will provide easy access to patients, he adds
Thousands rally in Karachi after deadly mall fire, demand resignations and reforms
- Protesters cite fire that killed at least 67, blame civic failures, weak emergency response
- Rally adds pressure on Sindh’s ruling party amid anger over infrastructure and utilities
KARACHI: Thousands rallied in Karachi on Sunday demanding the resignations of local officials and systemic reforms following a devastating shopping mall fire that killed dozens last month.
The demonstration underscored deepening public anger over civic failures in Pakistan’s largest city.
Approximately 4,000 people marched under the slogan “Enough is enough” in a rally organized by the political Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).
Demonstrators cited chronic water and power shortages, poor emergency services, and crumbling infrastructure as key grievances.
The blaze at the Gul Plaza Shopping Mall in January, which left at least 67 dead and over 15 missing, has intensified scrutiny of the city’s disaster preparedness and governance.
The protest’s main speaker, Jamaat e Islami’s Karachi chief Munim Zafar, demanded immediate compensation for the victims’ families and affected businesses. He also accused the city’s administration of failing to provide basic utilities and competent emergency services.
“Our demand is clear: compensation for the families of those who died in the Gul Plaza incident, and compensation for the traders who suffered losses. They should be given alternative support to help them rebuild their businesses,” Zafar said.
He said Karachi’s residents were being denied basic services and protection, calling for the resignations of senior city and provincial officials:
“The people of Karachi deserve to live with dignity, but you’re not providing them with basic necessities like water and electricity. When there’s a fire, you’re incapable of rescue, and when it rains, the city is flooded. Our infrastructure is in shambles ... Karachi needs an empowered local government system.”
The protest increases political pressure on the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which governs Sindh province and Karachi.
City and provincial authorities have previously pointed to rapid urbanization and funding limits when addressing infrastructure issues.
The offices of Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and the Sindh government did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on demonstrators’ requests.
