PESHAWAR: Doctors here on Wednesday announced a pen-down strike on Thursday in the second phase of their province-wide protest to seek increase in salaries.
Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club, Neutral Doctors Forum chairman Dr Adnan Afridi said that around 6,000 doctors had been observing strike for the past 17 days. He said that only emergency and outpatient services were being provided to patients duringthe protest.
Flanked by other office-bearers of the forum, he said the pen-down strike would continue until the provincial government issued a notifi-cation about 30pc increase in salaries of doctors.
Dr Adnan said that doctors would continue to attend emergency patients in hospitals during the second phase of the protest. He said that the forum would hold a central demonstration at Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, on Thursday.
He claimed that neither provincial government nor health department had contacted the protesting doctors to resolve the issue.
He alleged that officials of health department told them that there was no need for doctors. He described the remarks as discouraging.
The forum chairman said that doctors had not received any substantial increase in their salariessince 2017. He said that they were facing financial difficulties amid rising inflation. He claimed that many doctors were trying to get jobs in foreign institutions because they saw limited prospects for their future in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Dr Adnan said that doctors continued to serve people during emergencies, including Covid-19 pandemic and floods, despite risks to their lives. Headded that doctors suspended their strike recently to provide medical treatment to the injured of Kohat suicide bombing.
He said that successive provincial governments failed to address doctors’ salary issues. He said that doctors had repeatedly been assured during budget dis-cussions that their salaries would be increased, but the promises were not fulfilled.
Dr Adnan said that the forum would continue its peaceful protest until the government issue d a notification regarding the 30pc salary increase. He said that the forum would resist any show-cause notices or disciplinary action against doctorsfor participatingin the strike.