PESHAWAR: The employees of health department including doctors, nurses and paramedical staff associated with ‘accelerated implementation programme (AIP) for merged districts’ staged a demonstration here on Thursday for regularisation of their services and release of salaries.

Holding banners and placards at Health Secretariat, they said that they were recruited in the project but now provincial government was sacking them. They said that the tenure of the project was 10 years but they were being sacked after four years, which was sheer injustice.

Awami National Party provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain also addressed the protesters. He said that the doctors and paramedical staff had been performing duty in merged districts on temporary basis for the past four years. “If this programme is for 10 years, why these doctors and other staff are being removed after four years,” he questioned.

He assured the protesters of full support of his party. He said that provincial government was bent on destroying every institution including health department. “Removing doctors and other staff recruited in the AIP project is injustice. The people of merged districts are already facing severe difficulties and problems, this move will further increase their problems in health sector,” he added.

The ANP leader said that government was oppressing those employees by depriving them of their salaries for the last seven months. He said that doctors performed duty in merged districts at risk of their lives.

ANP leader assures protesters of his party’s support

He said government should take steps to regularise the temporarily recruited medical staff. “Doctors in most hospitals are already resigning and leaving after getting fed up with government policies. If government, instead of increasing the number of doctors, removes them what will happen to patients? Awami National Party supports all the demands of doctors and other staff,” he said.

Mr Hussain said that ANP and its doctors’ wing stood by those medics, who were protesting for their rights. The government and health department should immediately pay them their arrears and take steps to accept their other demands, he added.

The central spokesperson of doctors, Dr Mohammad Shahzad, and other employees of health department were also present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2025