PESHAWAR, June 18: Retired medical consultants on Tuesday asked NWFP Governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah to form a committee to impartially solve the issue of resignations of doctors after the introduction of institution-based practice.

“The members of the proposed committee should be from the civil society and we are also ready to be its members to give suggestions to the government to cool down the situation,”  said Psychiatrist Dr  Shafique Ahmad in a news conference at the press club.

According to him, about 70 doctors had tendered resignations against the IBP, of whom resignations of 23 had been accepted.

If all the doctors left the government hospitals, it would deprive the patients of the services of specialist doctors and medical education in the province would suffer, he said.

Flanked by Gynaecologist Prof Dr Zakia Minhas and Physician Prof Dr Alaf Khan, Dr Shafique expressed his fear that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, would de-recognize the Khyber Medical College and thousands of students and trainee medical officers’ future would be jeopardised.

The United Kingdom-based General Medical Council would also definitely cancel the recognition of the KMC, which had, hitherto, been held in high esteem by the GMC, he said.

“We are not biased towards the government or the doctors who have resigned, because we retired almost a decade ago, but having been attached with the medical profession for 50 years, we are concerned about  the repercussions of the prevalent deadlock between them,” said Dr Alaf Khan.

Graduates from the KMC had been successful in the United States, UK and other countries, he said and added that those protesting against the  IBP would also move to European countries and the students wishing to become doctors would be deprived of benefiting from them.

The KMC was one of the prime medical institutions in the world and most of the doctors from there were working abroad due to lack of facilities in the country, he said and added that the government’s campaign against doctors would force those working there to leave the country. The government should offer incentives to them, he said.