Daily Times

The board of governors of the Ayub Medical and Teaching Institution on Sunday suspended two employees for inciting violence against the dean and taking the law into their hands.

The BOG said that Ayub Medical and Teaching Institution is the home of thousands of patients and employees who are staying at the hospital and performing their duties round the clock, providing protection to the employees and the patient is the first and foremost priority of the management. The culture of violence and aggression is not acceptable at any cost and strict actions would be taken against anyone who would be found involved in such activities sys press release of the BOG issued here on Sunday.

According to details, last year the doctors and health staff were on strike in the whole province over the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Regional & District health Authorities Act 2019 and suspended all the health services in all the hospitals for more than 40 days. It is to be mentioned here that the teaching hospitals like Ayub Teaching Hospital had no link with that particular Act, as the institution is already working as an autonomous body under the MTI Act for the last 4 years. After few weeks of the strike, as per the direction of the provincial government, the Dean & CEO of the institution, Professor Doctor Umer Farooq issued the showcase notices to few doctors and asked for the explanation. Over which, a mob had attacked the office of the Dean and took the law into their hands. Dr.Khiyal Afridi incited the violence at the Dean and provoked others to do the same.

The board of governors formed an investigative committee on this incident under the chairmanship of Professor Dr.Arshad Zafar. After investigating the whole matter and going through all the proofs and witnesses, the committee submitted its report to the BOG. The BOG suspended the two main culprits named, Dr.Khiyal Afridi and Mr.Firdoon Khan on the recommendation of the said report.

It is to be mentioned here that the administration of ATH has complied the recent notification of provincial government in which they have cancelled actions against the strikers. No action has been taken against those involved in strike as per recent orders of the provincial government. The salaries had been released to all the employees, the FIR under 3MPO had been taken back and all the employees are working in the institution. This action has been taken against only those who were involved in inciting the violence in the institution.

Real fear has been observed in the staff of the institution over their protection and safety after this particular incident of 18 October 2019. The teaching, non-teaching, clinical and non-clinical faculty members have been demanding action against those who have committed this offense. The employees of ATH and AMC have expressed their fears that if action is not taken against those involved in attack on the dean office then they fear their own protection and safety and are not able to perform their duties properly and peacefully.

Some of the employees who were involved in the incident has threatened the administration with a call of a strike against this suspension decision. But it has to be made clear that no one would be allowed to take the law into their hands or suspend the hospital services for their personal gains. Administrative staff and members of the Academic Council that include the Vice Dean, Associate Deans and Chairpersons of all the departments have supported the decision of Board of Governors and decided not to be the part of any strike that is against the employees of the institution and the people of this region and added that culture of Violence is not acceptable in the Institution at any cost, says BOG Ayub Medical Teaching Institution Abbottabad.