QUETTA, Sept 21: The Pakistan Medical Association, Balochistan chapter, has criticised the government and police for their failure to get Dr Munaf Tareen, who was kidnapped four days ago, freed.

PMA president Dr Sultan Tareen announced at a press conference on Saturday that doctors would boycott from Monday onwards the out-patients departments of government-run hospitals from 8am to 11am.

He said the chief justice of Supreme Court in a suo motu case had directed the government to provide security to doctors, but deplored that the law-enforcement agencies had failed to follow to apex court’s orders. This attitude of the government, he added, had contributed to such incidents as the abduction of Dr Munaf.

He said that in the past Dr Din Mohammad, Dr Akbar Marri, Dr Ghulam Rasool, Dr Mubashar, Dr Saeed, Dr Anwar and Dr Nasrullah had also been kidnapped and they had returned only after long struggle and boycott of the OPDs.

Dr Munaf was kidnapped from a place yards away from the headquarters of the Frontier Corps and police were informed of the incident within minutes. Yet, Dr Tareen said, police failed to take prompt action to capture the kidnappers.

The PMA, Young Doctors Association, Baloch Doctors’ Forum, Malgari Doctors’ Forum and Pakhtunkhwa Doctors’ Forum are all united and pledged to continue the struggle till Dr Munaf returned and adequate security arrangements were made for doctors and hospitals, Dr Tareen said.