The Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) convened a protest meeting on Monday to condemn the kidnappings of DUHS-Karachi and Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College (GMMMC)-Sukkur doctors who went missing Sunday evening from Jacobabad. Talking at the meeting held at Dow Medical College (DMC)’s Arag Auditorium, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Karachi President Prof Dr Idrees Adhi accused the investigating authorities of proceeding at a snail’s pace and of displaying apathy in tackling the important issue. Adhi demanded the government to take prompt action for recovering the abductees – Prof Dr Imtiaz Waggan and Asst Prof Dr Azhar Ali Shah – and for ensuring security to working doctors. DUHS Vice Chancellor Prof Masood Hameed Khan, who chaired the meeting, strongly condemned the kidnappings and said doctors could not work in an environment of insecurity.
Khan requested the government to make efforts for the doctors’ release and called for ensuring safety and security to the medical community. He urged a judicial inquiry to be initiated for probing the issue, and said strict action must be taken against the culprits to bring them to book. DUHS Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Umer Farooq said no First Information Report of the kidnappings was registered until Monday morning. Farooq demanded the senior authorities responsible for law and order to provide protection to the medical community.
Talking about the kidnappings, DMC Principal Prof Junaid Ashraf said Drs Waggan and Shah had gone from Karachi to Jacobabad to meet some friends.
Ashraf said the doctors left for Sukkur in a car Sunday morning for conducting MBBS examination at the GMMMC.
However, he added, Waggan and Shah never reached Sukkur and their car was found abandoned near the Sabzi Mandi area of Jacobabad, suggesting they had been abducted.
PMA DENOUNCES ABDUCTIONS: In a statement issued on Monday, the PMA-Karachi expressed serious concerns over the abduction of Drs Waggan and Shah, saying it was the third case of doctors’ disappearance within a week’s time.
PMA Karachi President Adhi said the continuous abductions of professionals and members of the business community speak volumes about the state of law and order in Karachi and through out Sindh.
Adhi said, “We demand all government functionaries and law enforcement agencies to recover the kidnapped doctors as soon as possible to relieve the families of the abductees from misery.”