ISLAMABAD – Calling the demands of young doctors legitimate, the Upper House on Saturday said the salaries of doctors were too less and should be increased.
Speaking on a point of order, Leader of the Opposition Wasim Sajjad said doctors’ demands were legitimate and the government, particularly the Punjab government, was not tackling the problem seriously. He advised the Punjab government to avoid highhandedness in dealing with the problem, as doctors were educated people and use of force would be counter-productive.
Zafar Ali Shah said the demands of the young doctors were genuine. He also suggested that increase in salaries of the young doctors should be given from the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) immediately, which later could be adjusted in the main budget. JI’s Professor Khurshid said the government should take the demands of the doctors seriously otherwise the situation in hospitals would get worse.
Senator Kalsoom Parveen said it was extremely ironic that a police constable or a military soldier was being paid more salary than a doctor.
Hasil Bezenjo said such things were bound to happen in countries where a roadside vendor earned more than a doctor. He said that if doctors’ demands were not taken seriously, the protests would spread across the country and hospitals and patients would suffer more.
Senator Shirala Malik said the Punjab government was lying to the people and nothing was being done for doctors. Senator Abdul Gaffar Qureshi said doctors’ problems should be addressed and there should be additional incentives for doctors who worked in rural areas. Senator Ismail Buledi drew the attention of the chairman to the absence of any minister in the House. Bezenjo said around 16 districts in Balochistan were without electricity for the last 22 days. Senator Sughra Imam said Senator Shahid Bugti had raised an important point regarding non-observance of the quota system in giving jobs to the people of Balochistan in the Ministry of Environment. She said similar prejudice was being exercised against the people of South Punjab.
She said NADRA should formulate a policy about the recovery of CNICs of deceased people. While answering queries on young doctors issue, Leader of the House Nayyar Bukhari said Zafar Ali Shah should have conveyed his sentiments to the Punjab government prior to raising it in the Upper House, as his party was in power in the province. He said the health secretary was in negotiations with young doctors and the issue would be resolved soon. On the issue of 22-day power outage in Balochistan, the chairman said the minister concerned should come up with a detailed answer to the question on Tuesday.
