Author: HT Correspondent
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: December 2, 2005
URL: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1562390,000900010009.htm?headline=Pakistani~doctors~enjoy~free~run~in~MP
Indore has a flourishing medical fraternity
- that of Pakistani doctors. A routine drive against quacks unearthed 37 such
doctors. None of them were registered either with the Medical Council of India
or with the MP Medical Council. Most of these Pakistanis had come to India
on long-term visas and stayed on.
These doctors couldn't have done this without
some political patronage and they got ample of it from a powerful Sindhi BJP
leader, who helped the doctors set up dispensaries in the city.
In October, the district administration and
the local MCI unit had sealed the dispensaries and warned the doctors of action
if the were found practising again. But the dispensaries came up again. Following
media reports, collector Vivek Agrawal ordered the raid.
The Pakistani doctors, most of whom have been
practising for years, have protested against being bracketed with quacks.
A delegation led by Dr Jai Kumar Pariyani
met the Chief Medical Officer and said they were "law-abiding people
and not quacks. We hold medical degrees from Pakistan."
He said the Pakistani doctors had applied
for Indian citizenship to enable them to get a permanent registration from
the Council. "Since India and Pakistan weren't on friendly terms till
recently, our applications got delayed," Pariyani said. But both the
district administration and the MCI unit put their foot down. Officials said
that though they had their sympathies with the Pakistani doctors, they could
not practice without registrations. The health department plans to file a
petition against the doctors.