PMA wants govt to ensure security for doctors, not sack them
PMA alleges Balochistan government shifting equipments from Quetta’s Civil Hospital to the Combined Military Hospital.
KARACHI:
The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has asked the government to provide security to Balochistan’s doctors and resolve their issues instead of sacking and arresting them, adding that inadequate security and illegal action against the doctor community will create an inescapable situation across the country.
Doctors in Quetta had started protesting in reaction to Dr Saeed Khan’s kidnapping. However, the provincial government resorted to sacking absent doctors, with more than 100 protesting doctors getting the chop.
PMA alleged that the Balochistan government was shifting equipments from Quetta’s Civil Hospital to the Combined Military Hospital.
In a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Monday, Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, the secretary general of the PMA, Dr S.M. Qaisar Sajjad, the treasurer and Dr Qazi Wasiq, general secretary of the PMA Karachi, announced that around 1,000 doctors from different parts of the country will gather at the doctors’ conference on November 30 in Quetta, adding that they will stage a protest there too unless the government solves their their issues.
“The provincial government has detained 80 doctors and kept them in inhuman condition. We serve the humanity and such behaviour widens sense of insecurity among doctors who are compelled to go abroad,” Dr Azhar said. “Do not force us to expand protest across the country.”
Dr Sajjad said that it was not possible for medical experts to work under stressed atmosphere. “We need peace of mind. Ours are not illegal demands. We want security and recovery of our colleague,” he added.
Dr Azhar was of the views that military doctors were not trained to treat common patients. “This experience will not work. Poor people will suffer and if the government intends to close hospitals for poor patients, it is better to inform us clearly,” he said.
The PMA appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to intervene in the matter.
Sindh’s Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed was also appealed to play his due role.
The PMA will also convene a meeting to furhter discuss the issue on November 28 in Karachi where doctors from different cities are expected to attend.
The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has asked the government to provide security to Balochistan’s doctors and resolve their issues instead of sacking and arresting them, adding that inadequate security and illegal action against the doctor community will create an inescapable situation across the country.
Doctors in Quetta had started protesting in reaction to Dr Saeed Khan’s kidnapping. However, the provincial government resorted to sacking absent doctors, with more than 100 protesting doctors getting the chop.
PMA alleged that the Balochistan government was shifting equipments from Quetta’s Civil Hospital to the Combined Military Hospital.
In a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Monday, Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, the secretary general of the PMA, Dr S.M. Qaisar Sajjad, the treasurer and Dr Qazi Wasiq, general secretary of the PMA Karachi, announced that around 1,000 doctors from different parts of the country will gather at the doctors’ conference on November 30 in Quetta, adding that they will stage a protest there too unless the government solves their their issues.
“The provincial government has detained 80 doctors and kept them in inhuman condition. We serve the humanity and such behaviour widens sense of insecurity among doctors who are compelled to go abroad,” Dr Azhar said. “Do not force us to expand protest across the country.”
Dr Sajjad said that it was not possible for medical experts to work under stressed atmosphere. “We need peace of mind. Ours are not illegal demands. We want security and recovery of our colleague,” he added.
Dr Azhar was of the views that military doctors were not trained to treat common patients. “This experience will not work. Poor people will suffer and if the government intends to close hospitals for poor patients, it is better to inform us clearly,” he said.
The PMA appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to intervene in the matter.
Sindh’s Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed was also appealed to play his due role.
The PMA will also convene a meeting to furhter discuss the issue on November 28 in Karachi where doctors from different cities are expected to attend.