PIMA demands respect for doctors

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Islamic Medical Association has expressed its deep concern and anguish over the trial of the CEO of Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) Dr Saeed Akhtar and termed it as tantamount to ridiculing his services for the country.

Through a statement, the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) President, Professor Dr Muhammad Afzal Mian, General Secretary, Professor Dr Khubaib Shahid, Vice Chancellor Shifa, Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad Professor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Khan and Professor Dr Hafiz Ijaz Ahmad from Lahore, said Dr Saeed Akhtar is a medical professional of the highest caliber. Akhtar received training in kidney disease management including transplantation from the prestigious institutions of the US. Had he opted to stay there, he would have had multiple doors to success and fortune but he opted to return to Pakistan to serve the masses here and it is a testimony of his vision.

The PKLI was his dream, the statement said, as our homeland has more end stage kidney and liver disease cases to handle. The PIMA statement says, Dr Akhtar made efforts for several years to get a team of highly skilled doctors to run the facility.

The question of the larger salary packages is highly debatable, as an optimal earning can never be accurately judged and is largely compared. Doctors of such calibre usually earn many times their salary at the PKLI. Furthermore, transplantation is an expensive undertaking and the amount put into this project should not surprise anyone who knows the field, says the press release.

The authorities including the respected judiciary are free to question anyone and any institution, but there should be a difference in treating professionals and criminals, and between interrogation and humiliation, the PR states.

We demand the authorities to give respect to doctors who have spotless careers and refrain from publicizing the on-going trials to avoid tarnishing the image built in decades, it said.