PTI KP lawmaker, doctors forum provincial president, general secretary ‘picked up’

PTI KP lawmaker, doctors forum provincial president, general secretary ‘picked up’

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Peshawar’s president Irfan Saleem on Thursday claimed that the provincial president and general secretary of the party’s doctors’ wing had gone missing. Also, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly member from the treasury Abdus Salam Afridi was allegedly abducted by masked men in Kuragh Chowk in Mardan near his house. The PTI leaders, workers, other close relatives and friends thronged the residence of the lawmaker soon after getting information about the incident. A party worker, who had accompanied Mr Afridi, told visitors that they were on their way to offer Fateha following the death of his friend’s relative but as they reached Kuragh Chowk, some masked men travelling in two cars intercepted the MPA and took him away at gunpoint to an undisclosed place. Doctors demand strict enforcement of staff security law at hospitals He said after offering Fateha, the MPA had planned to join a convoy of other PTI lawmakers and leaders scheduled to attend the chief minister-led protest march on Islamabad. PTI leader Adil Nawaz Khan told Dawn that the federal government was involved in such cowardly acts to pressure and abduct PTI lawmakers and other prominent leaders. He said that they would not bow before the corrupt federal government as they were trained by PTI founder and chief Imran Khan. He linked the kidnapping to the PTI’s Islamabad march. In a message, Mr Irfan Saleem alleged that Insaf Doctors Forum’s provincial president Dr Nabi Jan was picked up in front of the hostel at a time when he was ready to sit in the ambulance and was being taken for the protest march. He added that the general secretary of the forum Dr Saad was also picked up. The message said that according to witnesses, personnel dressed in uniform picked the IDF leaders up and also opened fire, leaving three people injured. “Dr Zain, who sustained injuries, has been shifted to the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) for treatment,” it read. Mr Saleem termed the incident extremely tragic and alarming and demanded an impartial investigation besides action against those responsible. He added that the protection of doctors and other medical staff should be made sure. When contacted, the Town police said that a case had yet to be registered by them. They, however, said that senior police officials were at the hospital. Meanwhile, in a statement issued here, the doctors’ associations condemned the kidnapping of the IDF doctors allegedly by “men in uniform” and demanded immediate release of their colleagues and strict enforcement of the long-awaited staff security act at hospitals. The statement read that the armed people took both the doctors forcibly from the gate of the doctors’ hostel in KTH and that Dr Zain and two others sustained injuries in firing by the kidnappers. “Targeting doctors involved in medical services is a violation of international law and is highly sorrowful and condemnable,” it read. Dr Jan, a senior IDF leader, is also an adviser to the provincial health minister and is a member of committees tasked with bringing reforms in the health system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He has been leading medical camps in the PTI’s protest campaigns for a long time. The Provincial Doctors’ Association (PDA) and the Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) have expressed deep concern over the arrest of doctors and demanded their immediate release. The PDA said that protection of healthcare providers must be a top priority and enforced disappearances were not acceptable. It demanded that the incident be probed through a panel to fix responsibility and ensure the safety of doctors in their workplaces. The YDA, in a statement, said that despite having political differences with the IDF, its members condemned the arrest of Dr Nabi Jan from the hospital’s premises. “We have requested the government multiple times to implement a law to protect the lives of healthcare workers in hospitals but the government has been employing delaying tactics,” it said, adding that the incident happened with the IDF, the doctors’ wing of the ruling PTI. The association said implementation of the long-awaited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Healthcare Service Providers and Facilities (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2020, meant to safeguard health workers, patients and establishments against unlawful activities disrupting health services, had been the main demand, while doctors had observed three strikes in the last one year. It added that the law remained far from implementation, emboldening people to resort to aggression in hospitals. The YDA said in February, a decision to fast-track enforcement of the law was made in a meeting held under health minister Khaliqur Rehman with members of PDA, YDA and IDF, but to no avail. It added that cases of violence in hospitals, especially in accident and emergency departments, had been increasing but the perpetrators had never been punished. Meanwhile, a first information report was registered by police in Swabi on Thursday against unidentified people for kidnapping PTI lawmaker Abdul Karim’s brother and three guards on Wednesday. Ijaz Khan, family lawyer of Mr Karim, said that the FIR had been lodged by Mohammad Adil, cousin of Mr Karim, in the Tordher police station. However, the police were tight-lipped about the incident and even refused to share a copy of the FIR with the media. A police official said they were not involved in the incident and it seemed that the attack was made under a well-planned strategy. Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2026