SKARDU, Jan 26: Doctors and paramedical staff of Skardu and Ghanche district headquarters hospitals protested on Thursday against lack of service structure and what they termed unfair attitude of the Northern Areas health secretary.

The protesters erected banners inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands in front of the hospital.

They said doctors belonging to the Northern Areas were working without a service structure and several of them had been in the same pay scale for 25 years.

They alleged that Health Secretary Brig Abdul Qadir had violated rules of merit in promotions.

They said the two hospitals were facing acute shortage of doctors. They said the staff in the hospitals was overburdened at the same time the doctors and paramedics lacked facilities and secure future.

“Recently, a lady doctor and a medical officer belonging to Baltistan resigned because of the situation. Now, only one lady doctor is serving in the two district hospitals of Baltistan,” a protester said.