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Friday March 29, 2024

PPP senator condemns use of force against protesting doctors

By Syed Bukhar Shah
September 29, 2019

PESHAWAR: Condemning the use of force against protesting doctors, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Rubina Khalid said on Saturday that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government wanted to introduce corporate culture in the hospitals of the province and now the patients have to pay for medical tests and X-rays in the name of health reforms.

Speaking at a news conference, she said that PPP would not let the protesting doctors alone at this critical stage and would fully participate in their protest rallies.

She also condemned the arrest of doctors under 3 MPO and demanded their immediate release and shifting of the injured Dr Zubair to a private room of the hospital. Flanked by the provincial president women wing, Nighat Orakzai, Shazia Tehmas, Saima Omar and Ajbar Jadoon, the PPP senator announced to participate in doctors’ protest and said that the use of force against peaceful protesting doctors was a shameful and disgusting act, which had never happened even in dictatorial regimes.

Senator Rubina, who is the provincial secretary information of PPP, said that the PTI had failed to bring about any change in the province. She said the LRH affairs were being run through remote-controlled device from United States.

She asked the government to withdraw its dictatorial and authoritarian policies in health sector forthwith. She said MPO should be applied to the chief minister, health minister and the police in this case. Responding a question, she hinted at initiating of disciplinary action against party MPA Sahibzada Sanaullah for supporting violence against doctors protesting against the Regional Health Authority and District Health Authority Bill. She said that the parliamentary leader of the party has strongly condemned violence against doctors. However, she termed the comments of party MPA as his personal point of view, saying the party has nothing to do with it. She said that the matter has been brought in the notice of the party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Rubina Khalid welcomed the disqualification of Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri as member of the house by the Election Tribunal and said that the verdict has proved rigging in the last general election. She said that there were more than 65,000 unverified votes polled in the NA-265 (Quetta-II).

The PPP leader said that the decision of the Election Tribunal has proved that the deputy speaker, who had banned the use of the word “selected” in the House, was also selected. She said that more similar decisions will come soon.

Meanwhile, PPP provincial Information Secretary Women Wing, Mehr Sultan in a separate statement condemned the use of force against the peaceful demonstrating members of doctor community and asked the government to negotiate with the protestors. Earlier, the office-bearers of the Young Doctors Association also addressed a press conference and announced continuation of their protest including boycott of duties at Out-Patient Department (OPD) in hospitals.

They said the provincial government was not honouring the commitments made with the doctor community. They said the PTI was depriving the people of the province of free medical facilities in the name of reforms. They said that the provincial government was constantly reducing the health budget.