PMA Center Calls Nationwide Strike and Closure of Medical Centres on September 30 Against New Taxes; Balochistan Announces Unconditional Support

QUETTA (Daily Qudrat) — The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Balochistan has announced full and unconditional support for the nationwide strike and complete closure of medical centres called by the PMA Center on September 30 against the new tax system imposed on doctors and private medical institutions by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). PMA Balochistan President Dr. Naeem Zarkoon and the entire cabinet stand like a rock with this decision.

In its issued statement, the spokesperson of PMA Balochistan said in unequivocal terms that health is a basic public service, not a commercial business. Including medical services in the category of retail trade by the FBR, forcibly imposing the Point of Sale (POS) system on private hospitals, imposing heavy fines and conducting raids on medical institutions is sheer injustice and unacceptable. Issuing notices of millions of rupees in fines to doctors and private medical centres is open harassment, which we strongly condemn.

The statement further said that similarly, the tax imposed by the Balochistan Revenue Authority (BRA) on the province’s private doctors and clinics is also blatant injustice, which PMA Balochistan outrightly rejects. On one hand, the medical community is being pressured at the federal level, and on the other hand, an additional tax burden is being placed at the provincial level, which is by no means tolerable.

The spokesperson said that doctors and private medical institutions are already regularly paying income tax and are single-handedly meeting a large part of the country’s health sector needs. The biggest loss of these tyrannical taxes will have to be borne by the poor people, because the financial burden of every tax is ultimately transferred to the poor patient. In a backward and underdeveloped province like Balochistan, where the people are already suffering severe difficulties in obtaining basic healthcare facilities, these irresponsible measures will make treatment even more expensive and completely out of reach of the common man.

PMA Balochistan has strongly demanded that the federal government and FBR should immediately withdraw the POS condition, cancel all fines issued to doctors, and stop the series of raids and harassment of medical institutions. At the same time, the provincial government and the Balochistan Revenue Authority should immediately withdraw all additional taxes imposed on private doctors and clinics. Before making any kind of new policy, the serious medical community should be taken into confidence.

In conclusion, the spokesperson appealed to all doctors, owners of private hospitals, clinics and laboratories across the province to play their full role in making the September 30 nationwide strike a historic success. The spokesperson made clear that if these tyrannical measures and notices are not withdrawn immediately, a stricter future course of action will be announced on the instructions of the PMA Center.