Fact-check: Has Saidu Sharif Hospital been seized by private renters?

A viral video circulating on social media claims that a well-known public teaching hospital in Swat Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been seized by individuals, who are now illegally renting out parts of the building.

This video has sparked widespread outrage, with many Pakistani social media users criticising the provincial government’s failure or complicity in retrieving the state-owned property.

The claim is misleading.

Claim

On November 27, a user posted a three-minute video on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “Everything is possible in Swat. A person has occupied the building of Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital and is now renting it out for Rs200,000.”

The video shows a person claiming that the hospital’s ground floor, previously used as an ambulance parking area, has been converted into a hotel. The video also alleges that the upper floors are being rented out to private individuals.

At the time of writing, this post had garnered over 4,000 views, more than 150 likes, and 49 shares.

The same video was also posted on Facebook.

Fact

The claim in the video is misleading and omits key details.

While it is true that parts of the Saidu Sharif hospital building were once illegally occupied by private individuals, the areas have since been vacated. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department now rents out the space to generate revenue for the hospital.

Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals is a public hospital that serves the Swat, Malakand, and Kohistan regions. It is affiliated with the Saidu Medical College in Swat.

Dr Sharafat Ali Khan, the medical superintendent of Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals, told Geo Fact Check that the building had been illegally occupied for over 30 years by shop owners who had built a commercial center within the hospital’s premises. A few years back the provincial government took legal action against these occupants, resulting in their eviction. Now, the health department has control of the building and rents it out to generate revenue, with an annual rental increase of 15%.

However, some portions of the building are still under occupation, and legal proceedings are ongoing to address this, he added.

Geo Fact Check then reached out to Attaullah Khan, the public relations officer at KP's health department, who also confirmed that the building had been under illegal occupation since 1978. In 2011, the provincial government took the case to the Supreme Court and secured a ruling in their favour, leading to the eviction of the shop owners.

Currently, the health department rents out the spaces at fixed rates, with annual rent hikes of 15%. But Khan also added that some parts of the building are still disputed.

Verdict: While the building was previously occupied illegally by private individuals, it is now under the management of the KP health department, which rents it out to generate revenue for the hospital.

Follow us on @GeoFactCheck on X (Twitter) and @geo_factcheck on Instagram. If our readers detect any errors, we encourage them to contact us at [email protected]