The government and the young doctors have locked horns again over demands put up by the Young Doctors Association (YDA), who have now demanded the intervention of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to resolve the salary issue, terming the talks with the committee nominated by the CM ‘disappointing’, Pakistan Today has learnt. The CM nominated a high powered committee to address the demands put up by the young doctors after meeting with a YDA delegation. The committee consists of Senior Advisor to Chief Minister Sardar Zulfiquar Khosa, Senator Pervaiz Rasheed, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, besides representatives from the YDA and senior doctors. The committee was supposed to resolve the matter within 15 days, which expired on April 22. However, the talks between the two sides have not been fruitful and a stalemate persists despite a lapse f so many days.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Dr Abubakar of the YDA, also a part of the talks, said the YDA called off the strike on the assurance of the chief minister, who had also assured them of personal intervention if the committee failed to resolve the matter. “So much time has already lapsed, but the talks have been disappointing. The government is not willing to take up the salary issue and is only prolonging the matter. We consider it a dead end and now the CM should intervene again,” he said, adding that Pakistani doctors were in demand throughout the world and if the pay structure was not revised it was going to be worse for the health sector.
He further said the young doctors wanted a pay package, which did not let young doctors to join private health establishments. To a question, he said other issues were only branches of the main root, which should be addressed first. YDA President Dr Hamid Butt said the YDA general council has been considering two to three options after the talks did not yield positive results. He said the YDA would announce its decision in a press conference. He said the doctors would not go on a strike without weighing in ‘other options’. However, Senior Adviser to Chief Minister Sardar Zulfiquar Khosa said the government was willing to resolve all the issues pertaining to doctors, but each demand needed ‘deliberation’ and proper time. He said the government had already issued a timeline to doctors for the fulfilment of their demands, adding that the government had also assured them that no action would be taken against them for the strike in the past.
He said if the YDA did not want to wait for the government to implement the decision, it is up to them to take whatever measure they want, but their demands cannot be met over night.
