APC to lay down protest strategy: PML-N hints at starting ‘Save Punjab’ campaign

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal said ‘Punjab Bachao’ (Save Punjab) movement would have to be launched soon to save the province from destruction.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, he said the opposition parties were holding an all parties conference (APC), wherein the parties would finalise a strategy and comprehensive plan about the countrywide protest campaign against the incompetent government of Imran Khan. Ahsan Iqbal alleged that the PTI government and Prime Minister Imran Khan were neglecting the issues of the healthcare sector. He said that after meeting doctors across country and listening to their problems, he was quite concerned about the medical fraternity. He said the PML-N would soon present a National Health Charter and Provincial Health Charter in view of the modern day healthcare challenges caused by Covid-19 pandemic and the PTI government’s inability to understand and run the country’s healthcare system.

After consultations with representatives of the doctor fraternity, Ahsan said the novel coronavirus outbreak showed that even the top global players were helpless and lacked the ability to deal with such crisis. He alleged that the PTI government had steadily damaged the country’s healthcare system. He regretted that the country was being run without its primary healthcare practitioners’ regulator: the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). He said the PTI government disregarded the Islamabad High Court decision to revive and fully operationalise the PMDC. Instead, he said, the government was trying to legislate formation of a new regulatory body under the name of PMC to implement policies and practices that are incongruent, inefficient and inapplicable in Pakistan.

In Punjab, he said the PTI government seeks to privatise healthcare, which will put medical treatment beyond the reach of an average Pakistani. He said the reservations shared by the Young Doctors Association with the PML-N were valid and the party had pledged to resist and raise its voice against the government's attempt to bring in a controversial legislation. The party would also oppose the Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance 2019 legislation in the National Assembly, he said. Iqbal said the PTI had disowned the PML-N established post-graduation degree for doctors, MDMS, which had jeopardised four years of hard-work invested by 6,000 young doctors. Similarly he said 10,000 foreign qualified young doctors were being made to run from pillar to post and were not awarded licences for over 10 months now which is not only jeopardising their careers but are preventing them from serving the ailing humanity amid a global pandemic. The former minister promised the PML-N would use its strength in Punjab to help the young doctors get their rights.

Ahsan strongly criticised gross mismanagement, bad governance and a total degeneration of the most populous province of Punjab and said that it was a dangerous path to tread. He said the PML-N was given the mandate to govern Punjab by people, but it was stolen from the party. The PML-N leader said the party had a big stake in the province and felt that the 10 years of relentless hard work and building of Punjab’s institutions was going to waste because of the disastrous PTI government in the province.