PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday stayed the end to the payment of health professional allowance (HPA) to 43 doctors of the Bacha Khan Medical Complex Swabi by suspending a notification of the finance department.

It also issued a stay order against the recovery of the allowance already claimed by the medics in question.

While issuing the said orders, a bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Daud Khan and Justice Mussarat Hilali directed the health and finance secretaries, director general (health services) and BKMC medical superintendent to file comments on a joint petition filed by 43 doctors of the complex.

The petitioners including Dr. Waheed Alam Jan said in an arbitrary manner, the finance department issued the impugned notification on Jan 7, 2016, through which the HPA was withdrawn purportedly in light of the provisions of Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms (MTIR) Act, 2015.

The respondents in the petition are the provincial government through chief secretary; secretaries of health, law and finance departments; director general (health services), and medical superintendent of the Bacha Khan Medical Complex Swabi.

Advocate Mukhtiar Ahmad Maneri appeared for the petitioners and said the provincial government had announced and granted health professional allowances for his clients, which was also enhanced from time to time.

He said the BKMC became functional in 2009 and the petitioners had been serving there as civil servants of the health department and thus, enjoying all benefits extended by the government.

The lawyer said under Section 16(3) of the MTIR Act, the government had to give option to the doctors whether they wanted to remain civil servant in the hospital or wanted to merge their services in the MTI.

He said no such option had so far been given to the petitioners.

“Recently, the provincial government declared the BKMC an MTI without fulfilling the basic requirements. So far, the board of governors has not been constituted for the said MTI,” he said.

Mukhtiar Khan said a medical college by the name of Gajjo Khan Medical College, Swabi, had been functional only on paper since 2013, and that it was attached with the BKMC but so far, the Pakistan Medical and Dental College had not recognised it.

He asked when the BKMC was not functional as the MTI, how the petitioners could be victimised on that ground.

The lawyer requested the bench to direct the respondents in the case to provide an opportunity to the petitioners of exercising the option until the GKMC was made functional.

He contended that through the impugned notification, the government also intended to recover the HPA already received by the petitioners since the time when the BKMC was declared the MTI.

He requested the court to stop the government from the said recovery.

The counsel said after the passage of the MTIR Act, the entire province had been categorized for the purpose of health services as was classified in the impugned n of Jan 7, 2016, which as per the Act had to take effect from the day the MTIs start functional. He added that GHMC became functional on papers in 2013 and for that purpose staff had also been hired.

The counsel said the employees of GKMC were working under the umbrella of MTI as was envisaged by the Act of 2015 and they were benefiting from the perks and privileges extended by the said Act, while petitioners already working in the BKMC had been deprived of such privileges by the respondents through the impugned notification.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2016