BKMC doctors: PHC suspends withdrawal of health allowance notification

Court issues notices to health, finance department secretaries seeking their reply

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court suspended a notification under which the health professional allowance was withdrawn from a few doctors of Bacha Khan Medical Complex (BKMC), Swabi. It also restrained the relevant authorities from recovering the allowance.

The bench, comprising Justice Daud Khan and Justice Musarrat Hilali, heard a petition filed by Dr Waheed Alam Jan and other doctors through their counsel Mukhtiar Manerai. The bench also restrained the government from recovering allowances from the doctors. The court issued notices to health and finance department secretaries and sought their reply on a petition filed against the notification.

Manerai informed the court the provincial government passed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Medical and Teaching Institutions Reforms Act 2015. He said the government, under the act, constituted a board of governors in all medical teaching institutions in the province.

He said the doctors working in the institutions were given two options – either to remain civil servants or merge their services in the hospitals.

Manerai added, “Those who would merge their services with the institutions would be considered exempted from health professional allowance.”

He argued the petitioners were not given an option. According to Manerai, withdrawing the allowance was unjust as petitioners were altogether discriminated. The counsel stated the notification was issued on January 7 and ordered to withdraw and recover the given allowance.

He said the petitioners could not be blamed as they were deprived of their rights. The counsel said the notification was against the law and the fundamental rights of the petitioners. He added it should be suspended.

After hearing the arguments, the bench suspended the notification and sought replies from the respondents.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2016.