{
  "id": 15846657,
  "title": "Medical fraternity condemns ‘harassment’, registration of FIRs against doctors",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/medical-fraternity-condemns-harassment-registration-of-firs-against",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-21T04:17:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2038665/medical-fraternity-condemns-harassment-registration-of-firs-against-doctors"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Karachi: Medical organizations have strongly denounced the hostile environment in healthcare facilities, alleging harassment, violence, and the filing of FIRs against doctors. This comes in the wake of several incidents, including alleged assaults on female doctors in Lahore, FIRs filed against 27 doctors at Liaquat University Hospital in Hyderabad, and a court case against medics at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) described the situation as alarming, indicating the rapid deterioration and imminent collapse of Pakistan's healthcare delivery system. Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, a PMA representative, stated that the practice of medicine in Pakistan is being systematically criminalized, with doctors facing murder charges, arrests, and astronomical civil damage suits for natural clinical outcomes beyond human control. He expressed concern that physicians, surgeons, and trainees who dedicate their lives to treating critical, high-risk cases are now routinely targeted with murder charges and arbitrary detentions. The PMA warned that the hostile work environment forced doctors to practice defensive medicine, hesitating to undertake high-risk procedures or accept critically ill patients, ultimately putting patients at risk due to delayed care and compromised emergency services. The medical fraternity urged the prime minister, chief justice, and all provincial governments to take immediate action, including prohibiting the lodging of Section 302/322 PPC criminal charges without prior technical evaluation, implementing healthcare protection acts, removing non-technical bureaucrats from healthcare leadership, and treating healthcare as an essential social service.",
  "summary": "KARACHI: Medical bodies have strongly condemned the prevailing hostile work environment at health facilities, stating that cases of harassment, violence and the registration of FIRs will force doctors not to take critical cases. They were speaking to Dawn in the backdrop of a series of incidents — alleged assault on a female doctor in Lahore, registration of FIRs against 27 doctors of Liaquat…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}