A number of senior doctors have recently left Karachi after getting extortion money chits and threats of kidnapping, however, the government is yet to take notice of the growing harassment of medical community in the city.
A very senior medical practitioner of the city told PPI on the condition of anonymity, as he himself is facing such threats, that extortion mafia in Karachi had increased their activities and sent extortion chits to several hundreds of senior doctors, consultants and surgeons. He said majority of these harassed doctors silently paid the extortion money without reporting to the police. He said the especial cell of police and Rangers formed in the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) House had just received about 45 complaints of doctors, but it was just tip of the iceberg.
Citing the case of a famous ENT surgeon, he said one day he received a letter of extortionists along with a bullet and the next day he left Karachi for Dubai along with his family. He said hundreds of senior and experienced doctors had already left the city and many more were planning so. He said threats to doctors in Karachi were not a fiction as seven doctors had already been murdered in this city.
He said extortionists generally demanded payment of Rs 0.3 to 0.5million and after negotiations they settle at about Rs0.2 million. He said a bank account was provided to the targeted doctor to deposit the money. He said for a senior doctor with a thriving practice and good reputation it was rather easy to pay Rs 0.2mn silently than to visit police station and lodge a formal FIR. He said sadly once a doctor paid extortion money, he again received demand for more after a gap of four to six months. Finally, these doctors preferred to leave the city altogether, he added.
He said the government was concerned about the safety of only traders and industrialists but it was ignoring medical community. He suggested conducting a survey of the doctors who had left the city in recent years and it would be an eye-opener for our law and order policymakers. He urged the government to look into the matter seriously as the swift brain drain of consultant doctors from Karachi would pose serious threats to the healthcare sector of this largest city of Pakistan.