Hisham advises protesting doctors to refrain from politics

F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Health Dr Hisham Inamullah Thursday advised the doctors to refrain from politics and protests on petty issues and asked them to perform their duties honestly otherwise, a strict action to be taken.

Presiding over a meeting of directors of all teaching hospitals of the province, deans of medical colleges, district health officers and agency surgeons of merged districts, he directed to take action against all absent doctors from their duty under the Service Act.

He said a handful of troublesome would not be allowed to take law into their hands and stage protest against the posting and transfers.

He said the doctors were making an issue of a non-issue as the government had no plan to privatize government hospitals.

He said the doctors were protesting to avoid postings and transfers and there was no other reason of the protest.

The minister said the government was answerable to the people and responsible to providing them services, adding if the doctors did not want to perform their duty they should start some other jobs as the government would not allow them to take part in such illegal practices in “New Pakistan”.

He made it clear that the provincial government was bringing reforms in the government hospitals as per its agenda rather doing privatization.

Earlier, a heavy contingent of police was deployed at Lady Reading Hospital to avoid any untoward incident in the wake of doctors’ protests.