PESHAWAR, Oct 31: At least 350 journalists and their relatives got free of cost medical treatment at a camp organised by Journalists Welfare, Safety and Development Foundation at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday.

The camp was arranged in collaboration with Bacha Khan Patients Welfare Society and Peshawar Press Club wherein free medicines were distributed and necessary tests including hepatitis B and C, sugar and urine, were also conducted.

Some 11 specialist doctors checked the patients and also prescribed operations to some of them. Provincial Minister for Health Shaukat Yousufzai and Awami National Party leader Sardar Hussain Babak also visited the camp and assured support to the foundation for its initiative.

`Welfare organisations need to be appreciated for the work they are doing irrespective of political affiliations,` said Mr Babak.

The minister said that the government alone could not solve the problems without the support of civil society organisations. He lauded the welfare society for providing free of cost treatment to media persons.

Earlier, the society chairman Dr Shaukat Amirzada briefed the minister about the camp and overall role of his organisation for the welfare of low income people.

Malgari Doctoran president Dr Saeedur Rehman also assured the foundation of the society`s continued support.

He said that the doctors would provide free of cost services to media persons even at their private clinics on particular days and similar medical camps would be organised in press clubs across the province.