PESHAWAR: The health department is expediting work to implement the long-awaited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Healthcare Service Providers and Facilities (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2020, to safeguard healthcare workers, patients and establishments against unlawful activities disrupting healthcare services.

The decision to fast-track enforcement of the law was taken at a meeting held under Health Minister Khaliqur Rehman with members of Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) and Insaf Doctors Forum (IDF).

Health Secretary Shahidullah Khan, who was part of the meeting, told Dawn that he had ordered relevant officials to frame rules to pave way for enforcement of the law to ensure safety of healthcare workers as well patients and their relatives.

As PDA, Young Doctors Association, Malgari Doctoran and Pakistan Islamic Medical Association continue to protest against the murder of Dr Mehwish Hasnain, a medical officer in Kohat, the government has agreed to offer Shuhada Package to the slain medic and register a case under terrorism law against the alleged killer.

Rules being framed for the Act passed in 2020

The law, passed in 2020 after extensive research by Khyber Medical University (KMU), was yet to be implemented. KMU Vice-chancellor Prof Ziaul Haq said that Dr Mehwish was a shining star whose life was taken too soon in an unthinkable way.

“Mehwish, you will be remembered. Violence against healthcare workers is a serious crisis. Backed by our strong advocacy and research, the Act needs immediate implementation,” Prof Zia, wrote in a post on X, former Twitter.

A senior office-bearer of PDA said that Dr Warda Mushtaq was killed in Abbottabad last year while the latest murder caused unrest among lady doctors. He said that the government must enforce the law passed five years ago to ensure safety of doctors.

The law seeks to safeguard healthcare service providers, patients and establishments against unlawful activities disrupting healthcare services. Healthcare providers have been observing strikes for enforcement of the law to protect them against violence by people in hospitals due to which patients also suffer.

The law, when enforced, will ensure heavy fine and jail term for its violators. In line with section-3 of the law, any act of violence against healthcare providers or damage to property in a healthcare service institution is punishable and anyone, who commits any act in contravention of it, will be punished with imprisonment of three years along with a fine of up to Rs50,000.

Its sub-section-1 says that the offender shall be liable to pay to a healthcare service institution a compensation double of the amount of purchase price of medical equipment damaged and the loss caused to the property as may be determined by the court trying the offence. If the offender doesn’t pay the compensation under sub-section-2 of the law, the said sum shall be recovered as if it is an arrear of land revenue due from him.

Any offence committed under section 3 shall be cognisable and non-bailable, it says. Besides providing protection to healthcare providers, the law also makes it binding on healthcare institutions to give complete information of medical treatment to patients.

According to the law, it shall be the responsibility of each healthcare service institution to furnish, in writing, complete information about medical treatment provided by such healthcare service institutions, to the patients, who seek treatment in the said institutions or to their designated relatives.

Under the law, patients have the right to seek complete record of their treatment while those resorting to violence against health workers will face legal action.

Officials said that health sector reforms unit (HSRU) was working to frame rules for the law that would give an end to strikes and protests by health workers. Healthcare workers continue to resort to protests now and then whenever they face violence due to which patients visiting public hospitals face problems.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2026