Consultants, professors join PIMS protest against MTI

Islamabad : A large number of consultants and professors working at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) joined the ongoing strike for withdrawal of the Medical Teaching Institutes (MTI) Ordinance on the 28th day of the protest here at PIMS on Saturday. The upper tier of the medial fraternity formed of a five-member action committee that will engage with the government in case it decides to negotiate with the protesters.

Earlier on, faculty members and consultants convened a meeting wherein they expressed strong reservations on implementation of the MTI Ordinance. An action committee was hence formed with Prof. Hashim Raza, Prof. S. H. Waqar, Prof. Imran Sikandar, Prof. Aatif Shami, and Dr. Aneeza Jalil as members. The committee vowed not to accept MTI at any cost.

The committee members were determined to force the government into withdrawing the Ordinance and announced continuation of the strike till their demand is met. They criticized the Executive Director of PIMS Dr. Ansar Maxood and Prof. Rizwan Taj for accepting positions granted to them by the Board of Governors of PIMS in spite of being in civil service, and appreciated Nursing Superintendent Humera Khushnood for refusing a similar offer. Two resolutions were passed at the meeting; one rejecting the MTI Ordinance and the other demanding that both Dr. Ansar and Dr. Rizwan immediately withdraw from the MTI-accorded posts.

The protesters were addressed by Chairman of the Grand Health Alliance (GHA) Dr. Asfandyar Khan, Dr. Fazal e Rabi, Ch. Riaz Gujjar, Muhammad Hanif, and Tanveer Noshahi, among others. They all pledged not to surrender.

Meanwhile, GHA’s spokesperson Dr. Hyder Abbasi had a meeting with Chairman PML-N Raja Zafar ul Haq who promised to raise the issue in the parliamentary meeting and Senate.