PESHAWAR: Police have booked two sitting members of provincial assembly for storming Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) and attacking doctors and nurses there.

The FIR has been registered at Hayatabad police station against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Nighat Orakzai and Shafiq Sher Afridi, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) member from Khyber tribal district.

The FIR has been registered under section 186, 506, 427 and 341 of Pakistan Penal Code for obstructing public servants from discharge of their duty, criminal intimidation, mischief, causing damage to property and wrongful restraint.

Both the lawmakers have been booked in connection with protests and subsequent rioting that took place after a young boy from Khyber who had sustained gun wounds died at the hospital on April 30.

Doctors seek enforcement of law on safety of staff at health facilities

Doctors at HMC have been on strike for the last two days to press the authorities to implement KP Healthcare Services Providers and Facilities (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2020 and improve security of the health facilities.

Earlier, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had also ordered inquiry into the incident of violence against doctors.

The FIR, which has been registered following a complaint by HMC hospital director Dr Faisal Shazad, said that a 15-year-old boy from Khyber was brought to the hospital with a bullet wound on April 30.

It said that doctors at the casualty provided the best care to the injured and neurosurgery doctors were also called to assist them during the treatment; however, the boy died of his wound during the treatment.

It said that the patient’s attendants resorted to rioting soon after coming out of hospital’s casualty and blocked main road leading to the casualty from both sides.

It said that the mob also stopped hospital ambulances from entering the emergency gate and blocked casualty and roughed up doctors and nurses and took them hostage.

The FIR said that later the mob pelted stones at the hospital on the instigation of both MPAs and both of them tried to save the armed attackers from police. It said that both the lawmakers also engaged into physical brawl with police personnel as well.

Nighat Orakzai was not available for comments.

In a statement issued here, Provincial Doctors Association thanked the government for registering FIR against the MPAs. However, it also demanded of the government to implement the legislation for hospital’s security.

PDA said that it would not stop short of implementation of legislation. It said that its legal team was looking into issues were hampering the implementation of the security Act.

PDA wondered as to why a law enacted a year ago was not being implemented. Whether it was the government or the hospital management that was behind the non-implementation of the Act, it questioned.

PDA said that delay in registration of FIR always led to suspension of services at the hospitals, which pained patients. It also demanded action against political interference in Dogra hospital of Bara tehsil in Khyber.

The provincial assembly had passed the KP Healthcare Services Providers and Facilities (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act in December 2020. It has introduced many clauses to ensure safety of healthcare providers at workplace for the sake of more effective and focused care of patients.

Section 3 of the Act says that any act of violence against healthcare service providers or damage to property in a healthcare service institution is punishable and that anyone, who commits any act in contravention of it, will be punished with imprisonment of three years along with fine up to Rs50,000.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2021