Islamabad: Four officers have headed or been assigned charge of Border Health Services (BHS) Pakistan in Karachi in just eight months this year, deepening concerns among health officials and travellers over leadership uncertainty, the organisation’s location and controversial vaccination practices.
The concerns come as the health ministry has also posted a non-clinical, non-doctor official as Director Emergency and Tobacco, prompting officials to question whether specialised public health assignments are being filled on the basis of relevant technical experience.
Official notifications show that Dr Mussarat Jabeen Rana, then Director Border Health Services Pakistan, Karachi, was transferred to the National Research Institute for Fertility Care on January 13, 2026. On the same date, Dr Mir Muhammad Hassan Bullo was transferred from Federal General Hospital Islamabad and posted as Director BHS Pakistan, Karachi.
In May, Parveep Kumar, a civil surgeon and associate physician at the Federal Government Services Medical Centre Karachi, was assigned current charge of the BHS director’s post for three months or until appointment of a regular incumbent.
In August, this year, Dr Syed Abid Ali Shah was transferred from Federal General Hospital Islamabad and posted as Director BHS Pakistan, Karachi.
Health officials said the succession of changes within a short period had affected continuity at an organisation responsible for health measures at airports, seaports and land crossings, including surveillance, vaccination documentation and implementation of international health requirements.
They said BHS needed stable leadership, particularly at a time when Pakistan was dealing with recurring concerns over infectious diseases, international travel certification and coordination among federal and provincial health authorities.
Officials also questioned why the headquarters of a federal organisation dealing with international travel health remained in Karachi instead of Islamabad, where the health ministry, National Institute of Health, immigration authorities and most federal policy forums are located.
They maintained that Karachi’s status as a major port and international gateway was important, but said the ministry should review whether the present arrangement was serving BHS’s wider federal mandate or limiting timely coordination and accountability.
Travellers and health officials have also raised concerns over what they described as insistence on influenza vaccination for some Saudi Arabia bound passengers. They said the vaccine was being treated as a compulsory travel requirement although, according to them, it was not among the standard mandatory Saudi conditions for all Pakistani passengers travelling to the Kingdom.
They acknowledged that influenza vaccination could protect older people and people living with chronic diseases, but said a recommended preventive measure should not be presented as mandatory unless there was a current written requirement of the destination country or a clearly notified federal policy.
Questions have also been raised about the vaccines offered at BHS linked facilities. Officials said passengers should be told the manufacturer, regulatory status, batch details and price of any vaccine, and should receive clear information about available choices before administration.
They said the concern was not the country of origin of any vaccine but whether it was properly registered, quality assured, transparently procured and administered with informed consent. They also called for greater clarity when internationally recognised influenza vaccine brands were not readily available in the market.
Another point of contention is the charge being collected in connection with polio vaccination and the NADRA linked digital certificate. Oral polio vaccine is provided free under Pakistan’s routine immunisation and polio eradication programmes, while BHS officials are understood to link the charge to issuance of a digital certificate.
Critics said the ministry should publicly disclose the approved fee schedule and clearly distinguish any certificate or service charge from the cost of the vaccine itself, so that passengers do not believe they are being charged for a vaccine otherwise available free of cost.
In a separate office order issued on September 17, the ministry placed Mr Habib Ahmad Chaudhary, a BS 18 deputy director from Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, at its disposal as Director Emergency and Tobacco on an attachment basis.
Health officials said emergency preparedness and tobacco control required technical public health leadership and experience in policy, surveillance, prevention and response. They said the ministry should explain the criteria for such appointments and ensure that specialised programmes are led by suitably qualified professionals.
They called for a permanent BHS chief, a review of its headquarters arrangement, publication of destination specific vaccination requirements and a transparent schedule for digital certificates and related services.
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