The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and the Punjab chapter of Post Graduate Doctors Association (PGDA) developed serious differences over the regularisation of 1,800 doctors after a PMA delegation met Punjab Chief Secretary Nasir Khosa on Saturday.
The PMA apprised the chief secretary about the hurdles in the implementation of the summary of regularisation of 1,800 senior doctors despite approval from the Punjab chief minister. They said regulations secretary was delaying the Service Rules Committee (SRC) meeting and demanded an early resolution of the issue. The chief secretary then asked the health secretary to get the issue resolved on priority basis and assured the delegates that the 1800 doctors would be regularised soon and no delay would be tolerated in this regard. However, the PGDA has questioned the mandate of PMA office bearers over the issue of regularization. In a statement issued on Saturday, the PGDA expressed its concerns regarding PMA delegation’s meeting with the chief secretary. The PGDA demanded that the promotions for the posts of senior registrar and assistant professors must be done ‘on merit’. They demanded of the authorities that those who passed MBBS examination after 1995 might be promoted and the ‘fraudulently’ imposed conditions be cancelled. They further demanded that, for the appointment of assistant professors, the year of post-graduation should be considered instead of the date of appointment as medical officers. They warned the government of large-scale protests if appointments were made flouting merit.
