PESHAWAR: Doctors across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will launch a province-wide pen-down strike from Thursday as part of the second phase of their protest against the non-increase in doctors’ salaries over the past nine years.

The announcement was made by Neutral House Officers and Training Medical Officers Forum Chairman Dr Adnan Afridi at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, along with other office-bearers of the forum.

Dr Afridi said around 6,000 doctors across the province had been on strike for the past 17 days. He said emergency services and outpatient departments (OPDs) were being covered during the ongoing strike, with additional doctors deployed in emergency and OPD units to ensure patient care.

He said the provincial government and the Health Department had not contacted the protesting doctors regarding their demand for a salary increase. He claimed that when the forum approached the Health Department, officials told them that the government did not need doctors.

Dr Afridi said such remarks by the Health Department secretary gave the impression that the government wanted to shut down hospitals.

Under the second phase of the protest, doctors will stop providing routine services at hospitals across the province from Thursday and will only provide emergency cover, he said.

The forum chairman said the peaceful protest by house officers and medical officers would continue until the provincial government announced a 30 per cent increase in doctors’ salaries.

He said many doctors were now appearing for interviews with foreign institutions because their salaries had not increased significantly for years. As a result, he added, doctors were increasingly seeing their future outside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Dr Afridi said doctors had continued to serve the people during difficult circumstances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, doctors risked their lives to treat patients. Similarly, during floods in various areas, doctors provided medical services in dangerous and difficult conditions.

He said doctors had also suspended their strike after the suicide bombing in Kohat to provide medical treatment to the injured.

Despite these services, Dr Afridi alleged, the provincial government was not giving doctors due attention and doctors were being disrespected at the Health Department offices.

He announced that the Neutral Doctors Forum would hold a central protest demonstration at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar as part of the pen-down strike.

Also Read : Nine militants killed as forces foil attack in Balochistan’s Mastung

Dr Afridi said doctors’ salaries had not seen any substantial increase since 2017, while the rising cost of living had placed increasing financial pressure on the middle-class medical community.

He alleged that whenever doctors approached the provincial government and the Health Department regarding a salary increase, they were told that there were no funds available in the budget.

He said doctors were often consulted before the provincial budget was presented and were assured that their salaries would be increased. However, he added, their salaries were not mentioned when the budget was eventually presented in the provincial assembly.

Dr Afridi said doctors across the province would intensify their protest from Thursday against what he described as the provincial government’s unjust attitude and failure to increase their salaries.

He said the strike would continue until the government issued a notification announcing a 30 per cent increase in doctors’ salaries.

He also warned that the forum would resist any show-cause notices or threats issued to doctors in connection with the strike.