PHC grants bail to detained doctors, directs FIA to probe torture – Pakistan

The Superior Court of Peshawar (PHC) on Friday, through a brief order, ordered the government to release
all doctors and paramedical personnel detained under the Public Order Maintenance Ordinance (MPO) against bonds worth Rs50,000 each, as well as written guarantees of good conduct.

Detained health professionals must also commit to resume work in their respective hospitals, as well as provide two personal guarantees before their release, in accordance with the court order.

On September 27, 16 health professionals had been arrested in Peshawar.

Police resorted to tear gas bombing and launched a cane charge at the facilities of Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) to disperse doctors who had gathered there to protest against the 2019 Regional and District Health Authorities Act.

The high court today also ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate the alleged torture of doctors in Peshawar. The director general of the FIA ​​was ordered to submit a detailed report of the consultation to the deputy secretary of PHC within 14 days.

Earlier in the day, Additional Advocate General Qaiser Shah had told the court that on the day of the fighting, the district administration had imposed Section 144 within the hospital's facilities at the request of the Lady Reading Hospital administration.

The doctors' lawyers, on the other hand, told the court that doctors and other staff members had only met to devise their future course of action when the police took vigorous action.

PHC President Waqar Ahmed Saith asked under what law doctors had refused to treat patients. He commented that the government's attitude towards the issue had also been inappropriate.

The APS president of justice also reminded the AG to produce a record of the destruction of public property during the incident.

"You committed a serious injustice in torturing educated people," he reprimanded the official.

Earlier on Thursday, a bank of two members of the superior court, composed of the chief judge of PHC Waqar Ahmad Seth and judge Abdul Shakoor, had filed two petitions for the release of the arrested doctors.

The bank suspended the hearing after the provincial government and doctors were unable to reach any agreement on the release of detainees.

The bank had given the government and lawyers some time for doctors to try to solve the problem through negotiations.

Later in the day, KP General Counsel, Shumail Ahmad Butt, had informed the court that the government was ready for the conditional release of detainees if they promised not to bind health professionals, including doctors and paramedics, to observe strikes in public health. installations.

He said detainees should ensure that they will not protest during service hours and that they will join their duties immediately.

Doctors from all over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been protesting for the past 10 days against the Regional and District Health Authorities Act of 2019, which was passed by the provincial assembly on September 27, which they describe as "nothing less than the privatization of hospitals. of the government". According to doctors, they had not been consulted by the authorities in the drafting of the bill.

After the clashes, the Great Health Alliance (GHA) had announced that it would close outpatient clinics in hospitals throughout the province for an indefinite period of time, and emergency rooms as the next step.

What is the 2019 Regional and District Health Authorities Act?

In accordance with the Regional and District Health Authorities Act of 2019, recently approved by the PK Assembly, the government will establish health authorities at the regional and district levels.

The federal and provincial government will provide funds to each authority, which will inform a policy board chaired by the KP health minister.

Regional authorities will have the power to:

• ensure that the objectives set by the Regional Health Authority (RHA) are achieved and supervise effective management and issue strategic instructions for health facilities in the assigned region.

• approve the RHA budget and allocate funds to health facilities

• supervise the provision of health services

• implement government policies and directions

• ensure that your programs are effective and efficient

• guarantee transparency

The law also dictates that doctors who are already serving under existing contracts will continue to be treated as public officials and will be entitled to a pension and other similar benefits. The regional health authority will have the authority to transfer doctors as needed at health centers in their respective home districts.

The law also says that the existing cadre will be treated as the "dying cadre" and will continue until the retirement of the last official, after which the posts will be abolished and the regional authorities will have the power to create positions and recruit according to regulations