NEW YORK, March 20: Expressing grave concern over the murder of scores of doctors, the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North American (APPNA) have appealed to President Pervez Musharraf to provide protection to their colleagues and families in Pakistan.

A letter by APPNA president, Mohammed Suleman to Gen Musharraf on Tuesday said “the Pakistani physician community in North America is gravely distressed at the sharp increase in killings in Pakistan that seem based solely upon sectarian hatred.” He said: “Our anguish is heightened by the fact that to the best of our knowledge, not a single criminal responsible for these dastardly acts has been identified, let alone brought to justice.’’