KARACHI - Doctors and leaders of Pakistan Medical Association Centre on Thursday strongly condemned the brutal killings of their colleagues. They made an appeal to authorities concerned to wake up to the unrest.
During the past four days, Dr Haider Raza, a 50 years old surgeon, and Dr Qasim Abbas, a 45 years old homeopath, were targeted and killed in the capital of Sindh. On Wednesday, Dr Raza came under attack when he was returning from a private hospital. The doctors’ bodies have been making a litany of complaints about bettering security but to no avail.
The PMA Central leader, Dr SM Qaisar Sajjad, while talking to The Nation, strongly criticised law enforcement agencies for failing to protect doctors in the city. He demanded the federal government take concrete measures against killings of innocent people.
Around 30 doctors, including some non Muslims, working in different private hospitals, have recently received extortion slips with bullets from Tehrek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). These health experts are under severe stress.
On the other hand, a meeting of PMA Centre and Karachi Chapter was held at PMA House Karachi on Thursday which was presided over by Prof S Tipu Sultan Immediate Past President of PMA Centre. The meeting was attended by Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, Dr SM Qaisar Sajjad, Dr Muhammad Idrees Adhi, Dr Qazi Muhammad Wasiq, Dr Shaukat Malik, Dr Ahmed Bhimani, Dr Khalil Mukadam, Dr Serajudaula Syed, Dr Najum F Mahmudi, Dr Shoaib Sobani, Dr Hamid Manzoor and many other senior members of the association.
The meeting strongly condemned the brutal murder of Dr Haider Raza.
In the meeting the doctors said that this was the second such incident in past two days. Just two days before a Homeopathic Dr Qasim Abbas, 45 was targeted and killed.
“It seems that government is not interested in providing security to doctors. Doctors are being killed in Karachi with continuity while the provincial government watches. Not even a single killer of doctors is arrested, despite ‘cleanup operation’ in the city.”
The PMA raises the demands with federal interior minister, chief minister of Sindh, chief secretary, IG Police, DG Rangers and all other state institutions for taking notice of this serious matter and bring the culprits to book, they said.
It was observed during the meeting that PMA’s policy of not going for public protest is not bearing fruits. Doctors are of the opinion to protest on a larger scale.