KARACHI: Doctors representing the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Pakistan (SOGP) at a presser held on Thursday warned the government of nationwide protests if the culprits involved in the murder of Dr Mehwish Hasnain were not arrested within three days.

The lady doctor was killed late on Sunday while returning home after performing her duties at the KDA hospital in Kohat.

Speaking at the briefing held at the PMA House, the doctors expressed their deepest condolences to the late doctor’s family, while strongly condemning “government apathy”.

“Dr Mehwish’s brutal murder is not just a loss for her family; it’s a dark stain on the conscience of this entire state,” said Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, PMA-Centre secretary general, adding that the security crisis affecting the country’s healthcare providers had reached a breaking point and that healthcare providers would not sit idle in such a situation.

Pakistan Medical Association demands immediate arrest of killers within 72 hours, resents govt ‘apathy’

“If the government didn’t arrest the culprits within the next 72 hours, the PMA would announce its toughest course of action. We cannot watch the medical profession in this country take its last breath.”

On behalf of his colleagues, he demanded exemplary punishment for attackers through fast-track courts and the immediate nationwide implementation of all acts/laws pertaining to the protection of healthcare professionals.

“We want the government to declare hospitals as protection zones with trained security personnel.”

Referring to the Red Cross data, Dr Shoro said that 130 doctors were killed and 150 kidnapped in Karachi between 2012 and 2014 alone.

“While global tracking has expanded through the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, the situation in Pakistan remains critical and is rapidly deteriorating. Incidents of violence have more than tripled between 2023 and 2024, with fatalities among health workers rising from three to at least 15 in just one year.”

In his remarks, Dr Ismail Memon, President of PMA-Karachi, said that healthcare providers had been raising serious concerns over the lack of security for many years. Unfortunately, the government has failed to take any concrete steps.

“For decades, Pakistan’s doctors have served this nation despite crumbling wards and immense pressure. But today, the healer has become the victim. We are no longer just fighting diseases; we are fighting a battle for our lives against a wave of violence and government negligence,” he said.

Dr Memon condemned the attacks on the vaccination teams in the border regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, stating that healthcare workers were being systematically targeted, with 25 separate attacks on polio campaigns recorded in 2024 alone.

“Our colleagues are being beaten by mobs and treated as easy targets while the state stands by,” he regretted, adding that the day was not far when the brightest minds would refuse to join this sacred profession.

“We strongly condemn the government’s apathy. A significant number of healthcare providers, disappointed by the hostile environment, have already left this country. The government must act now.”

Prof Shahbeen Naz Masood, SOGP secretary general, spoke of the challenges women were facing in their professional lives.

The situation, she said, had become extremely worrisome as women at work felt unsafe. The government, she added, must protect all working women.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2026