MUZAFFARABAD, March 11: AJK chapter of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has threatened to go on complete strike across the region from March 16 if its demands were not met.
Mir Mohammad Naeem, senior-vice president of PMA-AJK, however told Dawn here on Thursday that emergency medical cover would be provided at all healthcare facilities even during the strike. He said the strike would end only after the issuance of notification regarding the acceptance of their demands. The PMA is already observing a two-hour token strike since Saturday.
The PMA office-bearer criticised the bureaucracy which, according to him, was a hurdle to the acceptance of their demands, notwithstanding sympathetic attitude of Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider and Health Minister Dr Najeeb Naqi Khan.
He pointed out that in his speech on current year’s budget, the then prime minister had announced in the light of recommendations of a cabinet committee the creation and upgradation of several posts of specialists, health administrators and dental surgeons.
“Although directives had been accordingly passed on to the finance department, the notification to this effect has not been issued even as the fiscal year is drawing to a close.”
Similarly, he said, a number of doctors were serving on ad hoc basis since long and despite commitments regarding their regularisation, no practical step had been taken by the concerned quarters.
He said the doctors were already at the end of their tether and inaction on the part of bureaucracy could leave them with no choice but to go on complete strike.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/pma-warns-of-complete-strike-230
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