KP doctors end strike after successful negotiations with govt

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s doctors ended their strike on Tuesday night following successful negotiations with the provincial government, according to Rizwan Kundi — a member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Doctors Council (KPDC) and Young Doctors Association (YDA).

As part of the agreement between the doctor organisations and the government, it was decided that two committees will be formed, both Kundi and the provincial administration confirmed to DawnNewsTV.

The first committee, as per the agreement, will comprise members of the government and doctors, and would deal with proposed reforms in regional health authority (RHA) and district health authority (DHA).

The second committee, meanwhile, would conduct an inquiry into the alleged thrashing of a general surgeon at provincial health minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan and his security guards’ hands last week — an incident that had triggered the strike. The committee will be led by Commissioner Peshawar.

The doctors had demanded that the health minister immediately resign from his position and a first information report (FIR) be filed against him. The doctors did not get either of their demands as part of the agreement reached on Tuesday.

It is pertinent to mention here that Inamullah, the minister, had said that he was attacked by the young doctors’ association, while a health department statement had accused the surgeon of attacking the minister at the KTH where he was scheduled to attend a meeting about policy boards of medical teaching institutions.