Daily Times

RAWALPINDI: The Young Doctors Association (YDA) on Monday gave a 72-hour ultimatum to the provincial government to remove Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat for allegedly threatening medical superintendent (MS) of Benazir Bhutto Hospital Rawalpindi.

The YDA held an emergency meeting at the hospital and threatened to hold protest demonstrations if the law minister was not removed from his post within 72 hours. They also asked the minister to seek apology from the MS.

The doctors on Monday came to their routine duties while wearing black bands on their arms as a mark of protest against the minister.

It is pertinent to mention here that Raja Basharat, in a telephonic conversation, had on Sunday allegedly threatened the Benazir Bhutto Hospital MS over disobeying his orders regarding transferring Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi’s daughter. In the audio, the minister can be heard ordering MS Tariq Niazi to transfer Areeba Abbasi to the skin department of the hospital. As Dr Tariq Niazi refuses to obey, Basharat can be heard threatening him with dismissal from his post.

Dr Tariq Niazi has confirmed that the minister threatened him on phone.

Meanwhile, Dr Areeba Abbasi has resigned from her post, alleging that the Benazir Bhutto Hospital MS had been victimising her because of her father’s political affiliations. In the resignation letter she sent to the Punjab health secretary, Dr Areeba said she joined the hospital in 2017 and since then has served as a casualty medical officer and then in the pathology department. She was then appointed as a medical officer in the dermatology department. However, the hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Tariq Niazi suddenly transferred her to the emergency department. She said there were no behavioural issues that would have spurred this transfer and she wasn’t given any explanation for the multiple transfers. When she asked Dr Niazi to reappoint her to the dermatology department, he refused. She alleged that the MS had an issue with her father and was politically victimizing her, as he had ‘strong relations’ with the PTI.

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid on Monday took notice of threatening phone call by Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat to the MS and directed the authorities concerned to probe the matter and present a report.

Published in Daily Times, December 18^th2018.