KARACHI: Senior doctors representing the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) have warned that private healthcare services across the country could be shut down if the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) does not halt what they termed the “harassment of the medical community through private mercenaries.”
Speaking at a press conference at the PMA House, the association demanded that medical practices be removed from the tax category applied to commercial beauty parlours and called for the immediate withdrawal of the decision to engage private auditors.
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PMA Secretary General Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro questioned the government’s move to hire 2,000 private auditors to perform functions traditionally handled by the FBR. “Is the state conceding that its own officials lack the technical capacity, or is this merely a mechanism to accommodate favourites in lucrative consultancy positions?” he asked.
He added that if the proposed private auditors were truly “experts,” they should replace the existing “bloated and inefficient FBR infrastructure” altogether.
On behalf of the association, Dr Shoro urged the government to respect patient confidentiality laws and discontinue the use of private auditors. He also called for the launch of a retention drive, including tax incentives, to encourage doctors to serve in rural and underserved areas.
“The PMA is no longer merely seeking relief; we are demanding accountability,” he said. “You cannot tax a doctor who has already migrated, nor can you audit a clinic that has been taken over by a quack.”
Referring to the growing exodus of medical professionals, Dr Shoro noted that 1,061 Pakistani doctors secured residency positions in the United States in early 2025—the highest number recorded in a single year. He attributed this trend to what he described as a hostile domestic environment.
He further pointed out that a large number of private practitioners provide treatment to patients free of cost, a reality he said was ignored by the FBR’s “crude, algorithm-driven assessments.” Despite inflation standing at 6.1 per cent, he added, doctors have absorbed rising costs of imported medical supplies to keep healthcare affordable.
The PMA leadership also raised concerns over what they described as the “lavish lifestyles of tax officials,” calling for across-the-board accountability and greater transparency within the tax administration.
They warned that any move to “harass doctors through mercenary auditors” would be met with a complete nationwide shutdown of private healthcare services.
