As doctors and paramedics continued their strike against imposition of the Essential Services Act, 1958, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province for the third day, Imran Khan said Thursday the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led provincial government would not make any compromise on health reforms.
“No matter what doctors do against the government’s decision, we would not backtrack from our agenda of health reforms,” asserted the PTI chief while addressing a rally in Gujranwala.
Khan said that government hospitals would be brought at par with private hospitals, adding that they were not being privatised.
Criticising Lahore’s Orange Line Metro Train project, Khan said that the borrowed Rs 200 billion were being spent on the project. On the occasion, Khan welcomed veteran politician Hamid Nasir Chattha to PTI folds.
Meanwhile, patients suffered a lot as doctors and paramedical staff continued their strike against imposition of the Essential Services Act, 1958. The protesting doctors stopped working in all wards except emergency in the various hospitals, including Lady Reading Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex, compounding problems of the patients who also staged a sit-in.
Also, the paramedics threatened to extend their strike to the whole province if their demands were not accepted.
The Health Employees’ Coordination Council meanwhile formed an eight-member committee to hold negotiations with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and put forward their demands, such as restoration of health allowance to employees.
The protest of doctors and paramedics came after PTI-led KP government enforced the Essential Services Act, 1958 at all government teaching hospitals across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday.
PTI Chief Khan had clarified that the act had been imposed by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and not the government.
