Around 200 Pak doctors in FATA not paid salaries since four months due to paucity of funds

Over 200 emergency doctors and medical officers appointed by the government to improve patient care in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have not received their salaries for four months due to lack of funds.The officials revealed that the salary got delayed because of the unavailability of funds, long process of appointments and verification by boards of Khyber Medical University and Pakistan Medical Commission, said a Dawn report.

Complaining about the situation, women officers said that they are the most affected ones as their families depend on them. They said that they chose the job due to better salary despite security concerns but are not getting paid now.

The officers told Dawn that the medics were hired in April 2021 under the Accelerated Implementation Programme (AIP) to take care of district areas. They said that the government sanctioned 300 positions for medical officers with a monthly package of Rs 200,000 ($2,418).

Officials added that against 300 posts, only 283 appointments were made but many doctors either resigned or were terminated over legal reasons bringing the tally down to 172.

The government againannounced over 200 vacancies of emergency medical officers with a monthly salary of Rs 300,000 but couldn't find candidates, so only 36 appointments were made.Similarly, they said that the government announced 100 posts of medical specialists with a monthly package of Rs 450,000 but could fill18 only.

The officer said that due to such initiatives medical facilities and care in tribal areas of the south Asian country have improved but are not working any more due to delayed salaries.

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