ISLAMABAD: While the date for the ‘lockdown’ of Islamabad on the call of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) approaches, doctors in public sector hospitals in the city are planning to go on a strike against the repatriation of their colleagues.

A large number of doctors had come from provinces to Islamabad on deputation and their services were absorbed by the hospitals.

They are now planning to start a protest against the government’s decision to repatriate them.

However, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) Vice Chancellor Javed Akram told Dawn that the doctors were being sent back to their parent departments on the directions of the Supreme Court.

He was of the view that instead of holding a strike and causing inconvenience to the patients the doctors should approach the court to get relief.

During the previous PPP government, some officers of the police in Sindh moved the Sindh High Court against inductions of what they called blue-eyed officers.

Pims VC says the doctors should approach apex court on whose directions they are being sent back

They claimed that the direct inductions had affected their seniority. Later, the matter reached the Supreme Court which ruled that officers who had come to the police department on deputation after 1994 should be sent back to their parent departments.

Four months ago, the apex court, during the hearing of another case, asked the Capital Development Authority (CDA) if it had the power to absorb officials working on deputation.

After the remarks, the CDA decided to send back all such officers to their parent departments. Later, the National Assembly, the capital police and the National Food Security departments also started the process.

So far, hospitals in Islamabad have repatriated around 40 doctors while the process to send back more doctors is underway.

A doctor at Pims requesting not to be quoted said they had been working in the federal capital for decades and did not want to go back at any cost.

“The doctors have started contacting the associations of employees and doctors and are trying to convince them to hold a strike against the repatriation of the doctors.”

He said the PTI had already announced to lock down the city on November 2.

There is the possibility of a clash between the protesters and law enforcement agencies. In 2014, during the sit-ins of the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek, hundreds of people were injured and admitted to hospitals.

If doctors in the hospitals go on a strike during the forthcoming PTI protest, providing medical facilities to any patient would be a big issue, he said.

Another doctor, who has been repatriated, said he and other doctors had come to Islamabad over a decade ago and were not in a position to return to their native areas such as Balochistan and Sindh.

“We have shifted our children here and admitted them to local schools. Most of the doctors have even sold their property in the native areas and shifted to Islamabad for good. How can we go back to the areas where we don’t even have accommodations,” he said.

“We will not go back and use all possible options to stay in the federal capital. If we are left with no other option, we will resign from the hospitals and start private jobs in Islamabad. In the past, we got opportunities to get other government jobs but we preferred working in the hospitals where we were absorbed. The government should understand our problems and should not repatriate us,” he said.

The Pims VC said he had also learnt that some of the doctors were holding meetings to go on a strike.

“Though I want the doctors to stay in the federal capital, they should understand that they are being repatriated on the orders of the Supreme Court. In its decision the apex court has stated that if anyone had concerns they should contact the court,” he said.

“There is nothing in my hands and even the ministry cannot do anything,” he said.

In reply to a question, Dr Akram said some of the doctors had been repatriated to provinces and others were working in different departments such as the CDA.

Published in Dawn October 24th, 2016