Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Mian Khaliq-ur-Rehman Khattak has urged young trainee medical officers (TMOs) to end their strike and return to negotiations, assuring them that the government is committed to addressing their concerns, including their stipend.
Talking to the media, the minister said the government wanted to bring the TMO stipend at least on a par with other provinces and was willing to consider a further increase.
He said the government had already increased the stipend by 15 percent this year and had also committed to an annual five percent increase, effective July 1, 2026.
He said implementation of the commitment had taken some time due to the budgetary process.
Khattak said the government had held three to four rounds of talks with representatives of the trainee doctors and sought their nominees for a committee to examine their demands.
The committee would include representatives of the Finance Department, PGMI and deans of various medical colleges. It would compare TMO stipends across provinces and prepare recommendations after examining the financial implications, he added.
The minister said he would personally take up the committee’s recommendations with the Finance Adviser and seek their approval from the provincial cabinet.
‘I have promised them that I will act as their ambassador and personally plead their case,’ he said, adding that he would make efforts to get their demands addressed by the end of the year.
Khattak said some elements might not be properly conveying the government’s position to the trainee doctors, resulting in misunderstandings and repeated disruptions in the dialogue process.
He said delegations of doctors had held talks with the government and their messages were also recorded, but similar issues resurfaced after the delegations returned, indicating a communication gap.
The minister said the strike was directly affecting poor and ordinary patients who relied on public-sector hospitals for treatment. It was also affecting the doctors’ training and consuming valuable time, he added.
He appealed to the trainee doctors to call off the strike, return to the negotiating table and present their demands and concerns before the government so that an empowered committee could work out a practical solution acceptable to all sides.