PESHAWAR, Dec 4: The latest spate of kidnapping of doctors has caused scare among the local medical practitioners, who are weighing the options to leave the city or hire guards on permanent basis for their security.

The doctors observed strike at Lady Reading Hospital on Wednesday to protest kidnapping of their colleague Prof Amjad Taqweem.

They will go on strike at Hayatabad Medical Complex on Thursday to protest kidnapping of their colleagues. A province wide strike by the doctors will be observed on Friday.

Dr Taqweem`s kidnapping for ransom from Hayatabad on Tuesday has sent chill down the spines of the consultants, who fear for their safety, according to sources.

`Looking at the ease with which doctors are being kidnapped, anyone can become a soft target. So far, about 12 consultants have been kidnapped during the last two years. Most of them secured their freedom after paying ransom,` said a doctor, who attended a meeting regarding security with Peshawar Commissioner Munir Azam, Deputy Commissioner Zaheerul Islam and Chief Capital City Police Ijaz Khan at LRH on Wednesday.

Totally dissatisfied with the police`s performance, doctors have also requested for arms licences to be able to hire services of armed guards.

Apart from the specialist doctors, who were killed on sectarian basis in the provincial capital, kidnapping of senior consultants has become a flourishing business, according to sources.

Most of the consultants were abducted from Hayatabad and are believed to have been taken to the nearby Khyber Agency.

A doctor, who was kidnapped some time ago, told his relatives after his release on paying Rs110 million as ransom that his captors had asked him as where he would like to be dropped.

The doctor said that his family had paid ransom and he was asked to get prepared to head home. He said that he performed Isha prayers and then asked them to drop him near his home in Hayatabad. `Within five minutes, he was at his home which means that he was kept in the same posh locality,` his brother-in-law told this scribe.

Two years ago, a physician was kidnapped from his clinic and was kept in captivity in a nearby house before he was released in a police operation.

A medical specialist arrived from abroad to serve his own people, was quick to go back when he was released by his captors after paying ransom, a consultant said. According to him, more than 500 consultants were in constant fear. They were forced to limit their activities in medical colleges and clinics that affected the students and patients, he added.

`All doctors fear because they are in the same category and are therefore `qualified` to be on the list of the kidnappers.

The kidnappers don`t pick common people and know the price tag of the victims,` a physician said. One of the abducted doctors was given correct information about his property, income tax, bank accounts and the quantum of amount he earned from private practice every day by his kidnappers.

In many cases, the criminals pick top professionals and dedicated people.

A psychiatrist, who was kidnapped last year, had confined his work after getting released. The patients, who benefited from his weekly free medical camps, are the sufferers as he can`t continue the same momentum in view of threats.

A prominent paediatrician, who thwarted his kidnapping bid, will limit his activities, sources say. The ultimate suffers will be his patients and their parents. Despite being top paediatrician, he examines about 10 patients every day that doesn`t make him rich by any mean, sources add.

The province has a couple of rheumatologists and Amjad Taqweem, a gold medalist, is one of them. His academic and local services are desperately needed.

The scary situation may also affect training of graduate doctors, who want to pursue postgraduate degrees in different disciplines, if the consultants leave the province.

`The senior doctors are under pressure because of the rapid kidnapping incidents. Many contemplate options to shift to Islamabad or abroad, as the kidnappers know about every doctor,` a surgeon at one of the teaching hospitals said.

Dr Musa Kalim, who was made head of the committee to 11aise with police regarding Dr Amjad`s release, said that they demanded immediate meeting with chief minister. There was unrest among doctors, he said. The government agreed to deploy quick response force in Dabgari Gardens and LRH, he said. The province could go Balochistan`s way where scores of senior doctors were kidnapped, Dr Musa said.