PESHAWAR, June 30: Doctors affiliated with various associations here on Wednesday expressed concern over the growing insecurity they were faced with in the country, especially in Sindh.

Speaking at a news conference here, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) president Omer Ayub said that around 150 doctors in recent past had been murdered in Sindh and the police had not been able to arrest a single culprit.

Most recently, Dr Akmal Waheed, who was working in the National Institute of Cardio-vascular Diseases with his brother Arshad Waheed, was kidnapped for ransom but the police failed to recover them, he added.

He said the kidnappers had demanded Rs10 million as ransom and there was no sign of their recovery any time soon. Flanked by Dr Aziz Zia, Dr Abdul Khalil, Dr Said Alam, Dr Malik and Dr Abdul Samad, he said the doctors' security should be increased and special funds allocated for their protection in the federal health budget.

He said that Dr Hafeez had also been kidnapped in Mardan a month ago but he was still missing. The police were doing nothing for his recovery, he added. "We serve the nation irrespective of cast, creed, sex or religion but if we feel insecure then our input as health professionals would not be of optimal standard," he said.