Two young doctors in Tharparkar, Dr Abdul Karim Shaikh from Mithi and Dr Rahul Meghwar from Islamkot, have died by suicide within a week, triggering outrage among the medical community and raising serious concerns about working conditions, administrative pressure and lack of mental health support for healthcare professionals in Sindh.
Dr Meghwar, who was associated with the Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI), and Dr Shaikh, an employee of the Sindh Health Department, are the latest in a growing list of healthcare professionals whose deaths have been linked by colleagues to stress, workplace pressures and systemic neglect.
The back-to-back tragedies have sent shock waves across the province, particularly in Tharparkar, where doctors already work under challenging conditions with limited resources, heavy workloads and professional isolation.
The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) strongly condemned the incidents, terming them not isolated events but a reflection of “administrative failure, institutional oppression and open hostility towards doctors who dedicate their lives to saving others”.
In a strongly worded statement, PMA General Secretary Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro said that from the tragic death of Dr Shaikh in Mithi to the recent suicide of a PPHI doctor in Islamkot, “the land of Sindh is being stained with the blood of its own healers”.
“We are not just mourning. We are demanding an end to what can only be described as an institutional breakdown that is pushing doctors to the brink.” The association warned that the crisis affecting doctors begins long before they enter professional life, pointing to intense academic pressure, financial constraints and family expectations during medical education, which often lead to undiagnosed depression among students.
After entering the profession, doctors face what PMA described as “demoralising conditions”, including limited training opportunities, excessively long duty hours ranging from 24 to 36 hours and low stipends, all of which contribute to burnout and mental distress.
The association also highlighted the growing trend of brain drain, noting that more than 4,000 doctors left Pakistan in 2025 alone, depriving the country of critical human resources in health care.
The PMA said that it has received numerous complaints regarding the conduct of the PPHI administration, accusing it of unprofessional behaviour and harassment, particularly towards female doctors working in remote areas.
“This administrative culture uses psychological pressure and harassment as tools of control,” the statement said, adding that while doctors are struggling, “billions of rupees are being consumed by a corrupt bureaucracy”.
The association questioned whether public funds are being used to improve patient care or to benefit administrative structures, and voiced concerns about the dignity and safety of female healthcare workers serving in remote districts.
Calling for urgent reforms, the PMA demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the deaths of Dr Shaikh and the Islamkot incident, as well as transparent investigations into the functioning and finances of the PPHI, including a forensic audit of its funds.
It also called for an immediate end to non-professional administrative appointments, and urged that all technical and medical institutions be led by qualified and competent healthcare professionals rather than political appointees.
Among its key recommendations, the PMA stressed the need to establish psychological support units for doctors and medical students in every district to provide a safety net for those facing stress and mental health challenges.
The association further demanded strict action against the officials involved in harassment, recommending immediate dismissal without delay, and called for a forensic audit of mental health funds allocated in Sindh over the past five years.
Addressing the Sindh chief minister, the PMA said that only decisive action can prevent further tragedies, warning that temporary responses after incidents are not enough to address deep-rooted systemic issues.
“We cannot remain silent while our doctors are dying due to neglect, greed and indifference at the highest levels,” the statement said. The association also issued a message of solidarity to healthcare professionals, assuring them that they are not alone, and that their struggle would be taken up at every level.
Health experts say the deaths highlight an urgent need to address mental health challenges among doctors, improve working conditions and ensure institutional accountability to prevent further loss of life in the medical community.
