PESHAWAR, Feb 11: The Provincial Doctors Association has dissociated itself from the strike call given by Health Employees Coordination Council (HECC).

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) chairman Dr Shah Sawar said that government and the association had already worked on several issues of doctors including service structure, promotions and salaries. Within the next few months about 900 doctors would get promotion in the province, he said.

Flanked by Dr Jamshed, Dr Nayer and Dr Imran, the PDA leader said that those people, who had given call for the Feb 12 strike, wanted to get cheap popularity. “Those, who are giving such calls without taking PDA into confidence, have no authority to do so. The strike will not be successful,” Dr Sawar claimed.

He alleged that the people representing HECC wanted to serve their own interests. They had nothing to do with the services of doctors and other health employees, he added.

Dr Sawar said that the present government had almost completed its tenure and raising such issues at that stage would be of no use. He said that the government had already promised to promote doctors.

The PDA leader said that the decision to dissociate themselves from the proposed strike was taken in a joint meeting of all the relevant associations on Feb 10. PDA did not want to create disturbance, he added. Quoting participants of the joint meeting, he said that any protest movement could sabotage the negotiations process with government and in case of any loss the entire responsibility would rest with the people concerned.

Besides, patients would also suffer owing to the strike and the best way for them was to focus on peaceful resolution of their issues instead of further complicating the same through strikes, Dr Sawar said.