Director of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), Dr. Faisal Samdani, confirmed that all doctors have been paid their salaries this month following days of protests by house officers demanding pay parity.
In a video statement, Dr. Samdani clarified that 36 under-training post-graduate doctors had already received their salaries on August 22, while payments for new appointments were issued on September 1. Salaries of 32 doctors were delayed due to incomplete documentation but are being cleared today. He further assured that the three-month backlog will be fully settled by September 10.
Despite the clearance of salaries, Dr. Samdani noted that some doctors are still absent from duty and avoiding biometric attendance. He warned that strict action will be taken against those failing to perform their responsibilities.
Last month, house officers staged multiple demonstrations outside the hospital administration building, demanding “equal pay for equal work.” Protesters argued that while ASH doctors receive Rs45,000, their counterparts at other government-run hospitals are paid Rs70,000 for the same job. They emphasized that Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, being under the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), offers lower salaries compared to provincial government hospitals, which they described as “highly unfair.”
