KARACHI: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has announced a nationwide strike and closure of medical establishments on September 30, 2026, in protest against what it described as harassment, unjust taxation policies and coercive measures by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) against private healthcare providers.
In a statement issued on Saturday, PMA Secretary General Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro said the medical community strongly opposed the FBR's classification of healthcare services as "retail sales" and the mandatory imposition of Point of Sale (POS) systems on private hospitals.
The PMA maintained that healthcare providers treat patients rather than sell commercial commodities and argued that private hospitals were already fulfilling their legal and civic obligations by paying income tax.
According to the association, private hospitals cater to more than 70 percent of the country's healthcare needs. It claimed that the sector was facing growing operational difficulties due to heavy fines, raids on hospital premises and what it termed persistent harassment by tax authorities.
"Healthcare is a vital public service, not a retail trade," the PMA stated, calling upon the federal government and the FBR to immediately stop what it described as hostile measures against healthcare providers.
The association warned that if its concerns were not addressed, the medical community could move towards an indefinite nationwide discontinuation of healthcare services.
The PMA said the decision to observe the September 30 strike had been reached following leadership meetings across the provinces and that there was consensus within the association on the protest action.
Under the announced plan, medical establishments across the country have been called upon to shut down on September 30. Provincial and local PMA leadership, along with allied professional medical societies, will coordinate the protest, according to the statement.
The association also announced that PMA leadership at provincial and local levels would hold simultaneous press conferences on September 30 to explain their concerns to the public and media.
The PMA demanded that the federal government and FBR withdraw the POS requirement for healthcare providers, remove what it called unjustified fines, halt raids on hospitals and recognise the essential public-service role of medical professionals and healthcare institutions.
The association warned that failure to address these demands could lead to an indefinite shutdown of healthcare services across the country.
