As kidnapped Balochistan doctor is freed, doctors split over strike

PMA Balochistan vows to continue protests till demands of additional security are met.

QUETTA: Eye specialist Dr Saeed Khan returned home on Wednesday after remaining in custody of kidnappers for 42 days. The return though has split the doctors' community, which had been on strike for the past fortnight.

Family sources confirmed that Dr Khan had reached home safe and healthy on Wednesday morning, but they avoided giving more details on how his release was made possible, though the doctor later admitted ransom had been paid to secure his freedom.

The eye specialist had been kidnapped on October 16 from the Sariab Road area of Quetta when he was returning home after discharging his duty at a local hospital.

Talking to media after his release, Dr Khan said that he had no idea who paid the ransom money for his release, but he was certain that his captors did receive money.

Dr Khan thanked the doctors' fraternity for playing an active role in campaigning for his release and pledged that he would continue to serve poor people. He said that he was kept for four days at one location, but one day he lost consciousness, which he believes may have been due to a drug given to him in his meal.

“When I regained my senses, I found myself in a room made of bricks and stones, and I was given bread and water only,” the doctor stated.

He expressed his concern over target killings and kidnappings of doctors, but he did not know who the mastermind behind this incident was or what they wanted from him.

CCPO Quetta Mir Zubair Mehmood told media at Dr Khan’s residence that the police made extensive efforts for his recovery. He said that a probe was initiated and police would soon find and arrest the perpetrators.

Doctors split

Doctors in Balochistan had campaigned extensively for the return of their kidnapped colleague. To force the government's hand, doctors had resorted to strike and remained absent from their posts in hospitals.

Their protests was supported by the national doctors' fraternity with the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) endorsing protests and strikes.

However, when Dr Khan returned home on Wednesday, some doctors resumed work in hospitals, but others refused to return to their posts.

The PMA vowed to continue protests until all its demands, including additional security for doctors and release of other missing doctors, are met.

President of PMA's Balochistan chapter Dr Sultan Tareen stated that the doctors would continue their strike as no intervention was made by the government or security agencies in Dr Khan’s kidnapping case.

The decision came a day after chief minister Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raisani warned doctors of consequences if they failed to resume their duties.

More than 80 protesting doctors were arrested by the government who were later released after getting bail. The government took notice of the doctors’ long strike and suspended about 73 doctors, withholding their salaries and issuing notices for them to vacate their official residences.