Doctor performing coronavirus-specific duties commits suicide

KARACHI: In a sorrowful incident, a doctor has committed suicide in Kashmore over non-payment of salary for months after performing coronavirus-specific duties, ARY News reported.

Dr Qadir Nawaz Jakhrani, who committed suicide reportedly due to non-payment of salary, had been appointed in Kashmore Headquarters Hospital under the Sindh Pandemic Act last year alongside other medics.

Dr Qadir Nawaz Jakhrani was the sole breadwinner of his family and father of three children.

Young Doctors Association (YDA) Sindh leader Dr Mehboob, while talking to ARY News programme Sham-a-Ramzan, exposed the reasons behind the suicide of the medic.

Dr Mehboob revealed that several doctors in Karachi, Hyderabad, Jacobabad and other districts of Sindh were facing severe financial crises due to being deprived of their salaries for months.

He added that the contracts of a few doctors have been extended, however, they were not being paid their monthly salaries due to non-completion of documentation. The same misery leads to the suicide of Dr Jakhrani in Kashmore.

The Sindh health department has reportedly stopped the payment of salaries to the frontline health workers for several months. The provincial government had appointed 1,100 doctors and 600 nurses under the act.

Sources told ARY News that young doctors had earlier demanded the Sindh government to pay salaries of medics who are performing coronavirus-specific duties in different medical facilities after being appointed under the pandemic act.