LAHORE, Nov 20: The Punjab health department has yet to implement a Lahore High Court directive on the withdrawal of repatriation orders of four senior doctors of the Allama Iqbal Medical College and Jinnah Hospital.

Justice Ijaz Chaudhry had in the second week of October directed the Punjab health secretary to get the repatriation orders withdrawn and hold a meeting with the doctors to decide the matter according to the prescribed laws.

An additional advocate-general had conveyed the court orders in writing to the health secretary the following day. But the secretary did not initiate the process to implement the court orders.

It may be mentioned that the Lahore High Court had on February 11 convicted health secretary Hasan Wasim Afzal of contempt for not taking any action against his brother sentenced for issuing a wrong medico-legal certificate. A division bench of the LHC, however, suspended the sentence of the secretary.

The AIMC/JH board of governors had on Sept 23 repatriated four doctors, including the former principal executive officer, to the health department.

Those repatriated were: former PEO Prof Dr Eice Muhammad, Prof Ashraf Khan Niazi, principal medical officer Dr Iqbal Kazmi and additional PMO Dr Zulfiqar Beg.

The BoG had also sent a letter in this regard to the health secretary recommending repatriation of the four doctors.

Prof Niazi had then approached the Lahore High Court.

One of the affected doctors told Dawn that the Punjab health department has yet to hold a meeting with them. He said their salaries had also been stopped for the last two months.