Though protesting doctors have crossed the red line, the government is ready to resolve their grievances provided they come to the dialogue table, said Balochistan Secretary of Health Asmatullah Kakar at a roundtable meeting on Sunday.
The meeting, organised by the Quetta Press Club, was attended by doctors, journalists and lawyers. Lamenting doctors’ negligence towards patients, Kakar said, “All hospitals are closed owing to protests, while poor people cannot afford the fees of private hospitals.” He added that all citizens had the right to protest against the government, but limits should not be crossed.
Despite the recovery of kidnapped colleagues, doctors in Balochistan serving under the Pakistan Medical Association are continuing strikes to press for the restoration of 73 doctors who were suspended by the government for not complying with health department orders, the reopening of the sealed private clinics and hospitals and reimbursement of ransom money given for the release of kidnapped doctors.
While addressing the meeting, President Pakistan Medical Association Balochistan chapter Dr Sadat Khan Tareen said, “We are not safe. We were ill-treated by police during protests.”
Tareen said that medical students were facing difficulty as several professors were suspended, and so exams were being delayed. “Bolan Medical College is passing through a difficult phase due to suspension of professors,” he said. Doctors will continue their strike till their grievances were addressed, said Tareen. He also criticised the government for legislating bills against protesting doctors.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2012.
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