PESHAWAR, Aug 3: Provincial Doctors Association (PDA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has demanded of the government to regularise services of ad hoc doctors till Eidul Fitr otherwise they will start protest campaign for acceptance of their demands.

Speaking at a press conference in Peshawar Press Club on Friday, PDA senior vice-president Dr Munir Mehsud said that the association had repeatedly presented their demands to the government, but it could not fulfill its promises that created serious unrest among doctors. “We always adopted peaceful means to raise our demands through press conferences, peaceful demonstrations and negotiations with relevant authorities, but the government never moved to solve our problems and rather used delaying tactics in this regard,” he said.

Flanked by PDA’s general secretary Dr Ashfaq Khattak and Dr Amir Taj, Mr Mehsud said that the government had inducted 450 doctors on temporary basis, but their services were yet to be regularised. It said that the rulers should take all the matters seriously otherwise the doctors could go to any extent for solution of the problems.

He said that there was no service structure for the doctors and many of them had been doing duties in the same pay scale, while their sons serving in other government departments had been getting advanced increments. He also condemned the newly-introduced ‘Essential Services Act’ and asked the provincial government to withdraw it. “We will hold a meeting soon after Ramazan to devise our future line of action,” he said.

Mr Mehsud said that hundreds of doctors had qualified examinations of Public Service Commission, but they were yet to be inducted on permanent posts. He said that the government should immediately order appointment of these doctors.