KOHAT: Unidentified gunmen shot dead a lady doctor on her way home after performing her duty at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital here on Sunday.
The incident triggered a strong reaction from the medical fraternity, with the Young Doctors Association (YDA) announcing a complete strike in all government hospitals across the province to protest the lack of security for healthcare professionals.
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Police sources and eyewitnesses said Dr Mehwish was returning home in a rickshaw after completing a 24-hour shift when armed assailants, reportedly lying in wait, intercepted the vehicle and opened fire. The doctor sustained multiple bullet wounds and died on the spot. The attackers fled the scene immediately after the shooting.
While the police have yet to determine a definitive motive, YDA officials claimed the murder followed a “minor altercation” between the doctor and a patient’s attendant at the hospital a day earlier.
“Our colleagues work 24-hour shifts to serve the public, yet they possess no basic security,” a spokesperson for the YDA said during a late-night protest at the DHQ hospital. “We will not remain silent on this atrocity.”
The YDA president has called for a total suspension of services, including outpatient departments (OPDs), in all public hospitals across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa starting Monday. He warned that the protest would be expanded unless the perpetrators were arrested immediately and legislation was enacted to ensure the safety of medical staff.
A police official stated that various teams had been formed to track down the suspects. “We are examining the incident from multiple angles, including the reported hospital dispute and potential personal enmity,” he said, adding that CCTV footage from the vicinity was being collected to identify the assailants. No formal arrests had been made till the filing of this report.
