Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has said that a war-like situation prevails in the province, warning that Governor’s Rule could be imposed if the situation deteriorates further, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Speaking to the media during a protest by house officers and other doctors at Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) in Peshawar on Monday, Faisal Kundi said the Constitution provides for Governor’s Rule, although he has no personal desire to impose it. He added that if circumstances reached that point and the President of Pakistan advised him to do so, he would implement the constitutional measure.
He also criticized the provincial government over the ongoing doctors’ protest, saying the Chief Minister should have come forward to resolve the issue.
“The Chief Minister should have come to resolve the doctors’ issue,” Faisal Kundi said, adding that those who call themselves public representatives could not even speak with the protesting doctors.
He said patients were being forced “from pillar to post” due to the ongoing protest, while acknowledging that the province had limited financial resources.
He said PPP MPAs would submit resolutions in the provincial assembly in support of the doctors’ demands, adding that he would also speak to the Chief Minister to help resolve the matter.
The governor further criticized Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, saying he had time to visit Malakand and march towards Islamabad but not to address the grievances of young doctors.
“The province is in flames, bodies are piling up, yet the Chief Minister is marching on Islamabad,” Faisal Kundi expressed.
He added that the Chief Minister was preoccupied with saving his own position and said that if Afridi believed he lacked authority, he should resign.
Doctors across government hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been boycotting OPD services and demanding an immediate 30% increase in salaries.
“Where does the money come from when the provincial government raises its ministers’ salaries?” the governor questioned.
He said the provincial government was adopting double standards regarding doctors’ salaries and called for bringing the salaries of other doctors in line with those at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.
Faisal Kundi’s remarks come amid heightened political tensions in KP and his recent statements that consultations had taken place regarding the possibility of imposing Governor’s Rule in the province.