PHC restrains KP govt from sacking PPHI doctors

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday restrained the provincial government from sacking doctors, appointed under the People’s Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI), till next order of the court.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Irshad Qaiser and Justice Syed Afsar Shah stayed the removal of the doctors appointed for the Basic Health Units (BHUs) across the province and sought reply from the government.

Dr Raheel and others had filed a writ petition against the provincial government’s decision on removal of the doctors with other employees appointed under the PPHI, a government-funded project.

The petitioners’ lawyer Qazi Muhammad Anwar submitted that the previous government had appointed the petitioners for the BHUs in the province under the PPHI programme.

He contended that the petitioners were senior doctors but the provincial government issued notice to them that they would be terminated from service from June 30 as the provincial government had decided to wind up the PPHI next month.