Fact-check: No, this is not a picture of the doctor suspended for misbehaving with patients in Punjab

A picture, which has been shared by multiple social media accounts, shows a man behind bars. Online posts claim the man in the picture is a doctor from Punjab, who has been jailed for misconduct.

The photo is in fact of a revenue officer from Sindh, who was arrested last month for allegedly selling relief goods reserved for flood survivors in Pakistan.

Claim

On December 2, a Facebook user shared an alleged phone conversation between Dr Kafayat Ullah, a senior medical officer at the Tehsil Headquarter Hospital Sahiwal in Sargodha, Punjab, and another man.

In the audio, the man can be heard telling the doctor that his sister has been in the labour and delivery ward of the hospital for a while and no doctor or medical staff had tended to her. He further added that the gynae ward was locked and the staff was missing.

After listening to the complaint, the other man on the phone, purportedly Dr Kafayat Ullah, asks to speak to Dr Aasma Mumtaz. The doctor then tells Dr Mumtaz to make sure she properly humiliates the patient, as the brother and sister had earlier complained to the Punjab secretariat about the doctors.

The audio has been shared online with the picture of a man standing in a prison cell. Facebook users identify the man as Dr Kafayat Ullah.

“Shameful behavior of Dr. Kafayat Ullah of Sahiwal,” one caption reads.

The audio recording has received over 389, 000 views till date and 7,100 shares.

The photo was also shared on Twitter, again claiming that the man in the picture was Dr Kafayat Ullah, who had been arrested for misbehaving with patients.

Fact

The man in the picture is not Dr Kafayat Ullah from Punjab. The picture is in fact of a revenue official in Sindh, Abdul Qayoom Leghari, who was arrested on November 28 from Mirpurkhas on charges of illegally selling relief goods.

However, Geo Fact Check could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio.

Maqbool Ahmad Malik, the public relation officer of Punjab’s primary and secondary healthcare department, confirmed to Geo Fact Check that the health department took notice of the audio circulating on social media about Dr Kafayat Ullah. After which a three-member committee was formed on December 1 to probe the matter.

The same day, the Punjab government suspended Dr Kafayat Ullah under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act 2006 for 90 days, Malik said, sharing with Geo Fact Check the official notification. Dr Aasma Mumtaz’s services have been terminated.

However, Malik added that Dr Kafayat Ullah had not been imprisoned and confirmed that the man in the picture was not Dr Kafayat Ullah.

Below is the real picture of Dr Kafayat Ullah, as confirmed by the Punjab’s primary and secondary healthcare department.

While the picture making rounds on social media is of a revenue official in Sindh, Abdul Qayoom Leghari, who has been imprisoned for allegedly selling Rs4 million worth of relief goods earmarked for the flood survivors in the province.

With additional reporting by The News journalist Imitiaz Hussain.

Follow us on @GeoFactCheck. If our readers detect any errors, we encourage them to contact us at [email protected].