GILGIT: GB Chief Minister Gulbar Khan has issued orders to stop the implementation of a bill raising the retirement age of doctors in the region to 65 years.

The move came after young doctors on Wednesday observed a strike across Gilgit-Baltistan and held protest demonstrations against the move.

According to a statement, the chief minister chaired a consultative session with cabinet members on important issues through video link on Wednesday evening, saying that this issue should be legally resolved on a permanent basis.

The call for the doctors’ strike was jointly given by GB Young Doctors’ Association (GBYDA) and Pakistan Medical Association (PMA).

As a result, doctors boycotted outpatient departments (OPDs) from 8am to 11am on Wednesday in all government hospitals of the region.

The protesting doctors also held demonstrations outside the hospitals demanding the government to accept their demands.

In April this year, the GB Assembly had passed a bill, raising the age limit of retirement of doctors to 65 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Last month, the GB government issued a notification, increasing the retirement age of all clinical cadre doctors, BSN nurses, radiology, anesthesia and ICU technicians to 65 years.

The GB Young Doctors’ Association and PMA have been opposing the government move, terming it the black law that will deprive new doctors of appointments and stop promotions of junior doctors.

Talking to Dawn, President of GB Young Doctors’ Association Dr Bahadur Shah said that GBYDA has rejected the recent decision of the GB government to raise the retirement age of doctors to 65 years.

He said this law had only been enforced in the GB as no such precedent existed in other parts of the country.

In his view, the move would deprive young doctors of appointment at various positions and stop promotions of thousands of doctors and claimed the decision had been taken to provide benefit to some ‘blue-eyed’ doctors.

Dr Muhammad Shakir of the PMA, Baltistan region, said the bill had been passed and enforced in haste without taking relevant bodies of doctors and para-medical staff into confidence.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2023