PIMA convention also calls for greater health spending, protection of doctors and measures to curb brain drain
Peshawar: Hundreds of doctors from across Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned attacks on healthcare workers and hospitals in Gaza, unanimously adopting a resolution demanding international investigations, protection of medical personnel and unrestricted humanitarian access to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
The resolution was presented by former Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) president Prof. Sohail Akhtar during the association’s 28th Biennial Central Convention at Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, attended by several hundred male and female doctors from across the country.
The resolution condemned continued Israeli military operations despite the October 2025 ceasefire, alleging that more than 1,700 healthcare workers had been killed and 362 detained, including at least 83 reportedly remaining in Israeli custody.
It claimed that 162 healthcare facilities and 197 ambulances had been targeted, leaving 36 hospitals and 96 health centres out of service.
The doctors demanded an independent international investigation into attacks on Nasser Hospital and other medical facilities, the release of detained healthcare workers and unhindered entry of medicines, equipment, fuel and medical evacuation services.
The convention also called upon Pakistan, Muslim countries and the international community to take effective measures to protect Palestinian civilians, hospitals and healthcare professionals.
During the inaugural session, newly elected PIMA president Prof. Ahmad Salman Ghauri and members of the central leadership took oath for the 2026–28 term, administered by outgoing president Prof. Atif Hafeez Siddiqui.
In his presidential address, Prof. Siddiqui said PIMA’s mission was to seek the pleasure of Almighty Allah through character building, ethical medical practice, continuing medical education and service to suffering humanity.
He expressed concern over the pharmaceutical industry’s influence on prescribing practices and the physician-pharmaceutical-diagnostic nexus, stressing that patients’ interests must take precedence over commercial considerations.
He maintained that the overwhelming majority of Pakistani physicians practised ethically, while only a small minority engaged in activities detrimental to patients.
Prof. Siddiqui identified uncontrolled population growth as Pakistan’s biggest healthcare challenge and warned that violence against doctors, economic difficulties and repeated humiliation of healthcare professionals in some provinces were accelerating the brain drain.
Former Khyber Medical University vice chancellor Prof. Arshad Javed said PIMA’s philosophy combined Islamic values, professional excellence and humanitarian service.
He urged doctors to pursue character building, continuous education and medical relief while contributing to social improvement beyond hospital-based treatment.
Speaking during a panel discussion on healthcare challenges and opportunities, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health minister Inayatullah Khan demanded a constitutional amendment explicitly recognising healthcare as a fundamental right and substantially increasing public health allocations.
He argued that national defence could not be ensured without a healthy population and that investment in healthcare should be treated as an essential component of national security.
Representing CPSP, Prof. Abdullah Muttaqi said the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan maintained professional standards despite pressure from influential quarters, including security institutions, to ensure that only competent and properly trained doctors qualified.
PIMA Women Branch president Prof. Amtullah Zareen highlighted violence, discrimination and difficult working conditions faced by female doctors, demanding protection for healthcare professionals comparable to that provided to uniformed personnel.
Panel moderator Prof. Saeedullah Shah warned that increasing diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and other cardiometabolic disorders were overwhelming healthcare resources. He called for greater emphasis on prevention, healthy lifestyles and public education.
The first day’s proceedings also featured discussions on robotic and laparoscopic surgery, maternal and child health, climate change, fatty liver disease, mental health and artificial intelligence in radiology.
Doctors from Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta and other cities attended the two-day convention, which continues on Sunday.
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