Introduction:
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital is a charitable organization working in Pakistan since 1994. Being headed by a notable politician, it is not unsurprising that rival politicians have often tried to defame SKMH. The following table shows, in brief, the milestone achieved by the hospital in treating scores of cancer inflicted patients patients in Pakistan.
This article, from an unbiased and non-political point of view, will serve to nullify the allegations made against Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) owing to PML-N's political rivalry against the chairman of this project.
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THE ALLEGATIONS:
Khawaja Asif, a noted PML-N leader, accused Imran Khan of having transferred Rs 4.5 billion out of the country from SKMH accounts, which were donated by people in charity to the hospital, to invest in speculative real estate business in Masqat and Dubai. He also stated that Imran Khan incurred huge losses on those investments.
WHAT DO WE MAKE OF THESE ALLEGATIONS? :
These allegations clearly show a complete lack of understanding of the way charitable, non-profit organizations are run all over the world, since the money invested abroad was in-fact the "endowment fund" that all major non-profit, charitable organizations invest in a suitable business. Coming from a political figure, the lack of such knowledge is indeed disappointing, however that remains another issue and we move on to explain what Endowment Funds actually are.
WHAT IS AN ENDOWMENT FUND:
Nonprofit organizations, institutions, universities, hospitals, mosques and churches all over the world often make use of Endowment fund to secure an income even in the time of financial crisis. It is an investment made by an institution in any estate/business/capital from which regular withdrawals are made to facilitate ongoing operations or other specified purposes.
To get a simple idea of it: Think of a mosque, the donations of which are used to set up a small general-items shop closeby. The profit earned from the shop is credited to the mosque so that in the time when donations are low, an adequate earning may be secured from the shop to keep the things running.
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With this background, we can move on to shun the points raised by Khawaja Asif against SKMCH:
1. Endowment Funds are a necessity and are used all over the world:
The details on the way Endowment funds are used is explained above. They secure an income in the time of crisis or when the donations are low, hence they are an absolute necessity and securing one for Shaukat Khanum was indeed A GOOD STEP.
http://www.shaukatkhanum.org.pk/news-a-events/events/273.html
EXAMPLES OF OTHER HOSPITALS AND FAMOUS INSTITUTIONS:
Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, a cancer hospital from Canada: http://www.pmhf.ca/Pages/Donate/NamedFunds.aspx
"Building our endowment is essential because it will ensure Princess Margaret Hospital has the ongoing funding necessary to continue its leadership role in international cancer research"
Royal University Hospital, Canada: http://foundation.saskatoonhealthregion.ca/Page.aspx?pid=328
" Royal University Hospital Foundation manages a range of endowments with a combined value of approximately $8 million. The capital funds are held in perpetuity, while the annual distributable earnings support a variety of initiatives at Royal University Hospital."
Harvard University, USA: http://www.hmc.harvard.edu/
"Formed in 1974, HMC manages Harvard University’s endowment and related financial assets. HMC’s singular mission is to produce long-term investment results to support the educational and research goals of the University."
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2. The accusation was of "money laundering" but in-fact no money was taken out of Pakistan; only overseas donations were used:
Shaukat Khanum receives upto 35% of donations from the overseas Pakistanis and the rest from within the country. A portion of the money from the overseas donations was directly transferred as the endowment fund and no money was transferred from Pakistan in PKR.
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3. No losses were incurred in this investment:
Mr. Imtiaz Hydari, the owner of the HBG Holdings where Shaukat Khanum invested for an endowment, had himself been a donor of Shaukat Khanum for over 20 years. HBG Holdings is a leading private equity group specializes in managing investment capital from private and institutional investors in the Middle East. The firm is owned by leading investors from the Middle East and manages about $1.8 billion in private equity, asset management and banking.
Imtiaz Hydari promised that Shaukat Khanum would be a share holder only in terms of profit and any losses on the part of the company would not be shared by Shaukat Khanum. The financial board invested in his company in the best possible interests and received the company's official statement.
Imtiaz Hydari himself stepped forward after the accusations were made and answered key questions for the media. (http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-124781-Khwaja-Asif-vs-Imran-investor-speaks-and-answers-key-questions)
______________________________
THE ABSOLUTE VERDICT:
In the light of the facts stated above, it is clear that all the accusations targeted at Shaukat Khanum
were either meant to purposefully defame it, or were spawned out of ignorance to the way charity hospitals and institutions are run all over the world.
Regarding Khawaja Asif, HBG Holdings chairman Imtiaz Hydari was right to say: "If he is a man of any substance, he will appear again on television to Apologise to Imran Khan, SKMT and Imtiaz Hydari."
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital is a charitable organization working in Pakistan since 1994. Being headed by a notable politician, it is not unsurprising that rival politicians have often tried to defame SKMH. The following table shows, in brief, the milestone achieved by the hospital in treating scores of cancer inflicted patients patients in Pakistan.
 |
| Patient Statistics - Click to enlarge |
__________________________________
THE ALLEGATIONS:
Khawaja Asif, a noted PML-N leader, accused Imran Khan of having transferred Rs 4.5 billion out of the country from SKMH accounts, which were donated by people in charity to the hospital, to invest in speculative real estate business in Masqat and Dubai. He also stated that Imran Khan incurred huge losses on those investments.
WHAT DO WE MAKE OF THESE ALLEGATIONS? :
These allegations clearly show a complete lack of understanding of the way charitable, non-profit organizations are run all over the world, since the money invested abroad was in-fact the "endowment fund" that all major non-profit, charitable organizations invest in a suitable business. Coming from a political figure, the lack of such knowledge is indeed disappointing, however that remains another issue and we move on to explain what Endowment Funds actually are.
WHAT IS AN ENDOWMENT FUND:
Nonprofit organizations, institutions, universities, hospitals, mosques and churches all over the world often make use of Endowment fund to secure an income even in the time of financial crisis. It is an investment made by an institution in any estate/business/capital from which regular withdrawals are made to facilitate ongoing operations or other specified purposes.
To get a simple idea of it: Think of a mosque, the donations of which are used to set up a small general-items shop closeby. The profit earned from the shop is credited to the mosque so that in the time when donations are low, an adequate earning may be secured from the shop to keep the things running.
_________________________________________
With this background, we can move on to shun the points raised by Khawaja Asif against SKMCH:
1. Endowment Funds are a necessity and are used all over the world:
The details on the way Endowment funds are used is explained above. They secure an income in the time of crisis or when the donations are low, hence they are an absolute necessity and securing one for Shaukat Khanum was indeed A GOOD STEP.
http://www.shaukatkhanum.org.pk/news-a-events/events/273.html
EXAMPLES OF OTHER HOSPITALS AND FAMOUS INSTITUTIONS:
Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, a cancer hospital from Canada: http://www.pmhf.ca/Pages/Donate/NamedFunds.aspx
"Building our endowment is essential because it will ensure Princess Margaret Hospital has the ongoing funding necessary to continue its leadership role in international cancer research"
Royal University Hospital, Canada: http://foundation.saskatoonhealthregion.ca/Page.aspx?pid=328
" Royal University Hospital Foundation manages a range of endowments with a combined value of approximately $8 million. The capital funds are held in perpetuity, while the annual distributable earnings support a variety of initiatives at Royal University Hospital."Harvard University, USA: http://www.hmc.harvard.edu/
______________________________________________________________
2. The accusation was of "money laundering" but in-fact no money was taken out of Pakistan; only overseas donations were used:
Shaukat Khanum receives upto 35% of donations from the overseas Pakistanis and the rest from within the country. A portion of the money from the overseas donations was directly transferred as the endowment fund and no money was transferred from Pakistan in PKR.
___________________________________________________
3. No losses were incurred in this investment:
Mr. Imtiaz Hydari, the owner of the HBG Holdings where Shaukat Khanum invested for an endowment, had himself been a donor of Shaukat Khanum for over 20 years. HBG Holdings is a leading private equity group specializes in managing investment capital from private and institutional investors in the Middle East. The firm is owned by leading investors from the Middle East and manages about $1.8 billion in private equity, asset management and banking.
Imtiaz Hydari promised that Shaukat Khanum would be a share holder only in terms of profit and any losses on the part of the company would not be shared by Shaukat Khanum. The financial board invested in his company in the best possible interests and received the company's official statement.
Imtiaz Hydari himself stepped forward after the accusations were made and answered key questions for the media. (http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-124781-Khwaja-Asif-vs-Imran-investor-speaks-and-answers-key-questions)
______________________________
THE ABSOLUTE VERDICT:
In the light of the facts stated above, it is clear that all the accusations targeted at Shaukat Khanum
were either meant to purposefully defame it, or were spawned out of ignorance to the way charity hospitals and institutions are run all over the world.
Regarding Khawaja Asif, HBG Holdings chairman Imtiaz Hydari was right to say: "If he is a man of any substance, he will appear again on television to Apologise to Imran Khan, SKMT and Imtiaz Hydari."
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