Whisked away: Chief polio paramedic kidnapped

Doctors continue to strike after Dr Taqweem was abducted on Tuesday.

SWAT/ PESHAWAR:

The in charge of polio vaccination teams in Masho Khel and Sheikhan, Olas Khan, was kidnapped by armed militants within the limits of Badhaber police station on Friday night.

Residents told The Express Tribune the paramedic was posted at a basic health unit in Sheikhan village. He was at home, which also operated as a clinic, when unidentified armed men barged in and took him hostage. The residents added that the suspects came in two cars and parked at a distance. The police reached the scene of crime 30 minutes after the incident by which time the kidnappers had fled with the hostage.



The police confirmed the report but said that Khan might have been abducted over a personal dispute.

Doctors strike

Doctors and paramedics in Swat will go on strike on Saturday (today) to protest the kidnapping of Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) physician Dr Amjad Taqween in Peshawar. This was decided at a meeting at Saidu Teaching Hospital (STH) on Friday, chaired by Doctors Association Swat President Dr Liaquat and Paramedical Association General Secretary Mian Gul Aleem. They said all government-run hospitals and private clinics in Swat will be shut and demanded the government to provide doctors with security. Dr Liaquat said they would march from STH towards Mingora and the roads would remain blocked, while no doctors would tend to patients.

Meanwhile, doctors in Peshawar also observed a strike on Friday to register their protest against the kidnapping of Dr Taqweem. The outpatient departments, wards and operation theatres of LRH and Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) were closed, however, emergency treatment was being provided to the patients. All doctors associations of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) took part in the strike, while private hospitals throughout Peshawar also remained shut.

The joint general body meeting of all doctors associations was also held at Khyber Medical College in this regard, where representatives of the nursing and paramedic staff participated. They protested and blocked the road in front of KTH, due to which a traffic jam was experienced in the city. Protesters decided the strike would continue indefinitely.

Provincial Doctors Association President Dr Umer Khattak told the media that the strike in hospitals and private clinics would continue till the safe recovery of Dr Taqweem. He showed concern over the growing incidents of kidnapping and demanded the provincial government to adopt proper security measures to curb them. “If Dr Taqweem is not recovered, the strike will be extended to a provincial level,” said Khattak.

Changes made

In a notification issued by the K-P health department, the posting of Dr Mumtaz Ali Marwat as Chief Executive HMC in place of Dr Muhammad Tahir was ordered with immediate effect.

Likewise, Dr Azmat Talat has been posted as Dean of Postgraduate Medical Institute in place of Dr Akhtar Ali and Dr Muzafaruddin Sadiq has been posted as Chief Executive LRH in place of Dr Arshad Javaid.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2013.