Doctors in Pakistan are being attacked, murdered by Islamist militants

Last year, a record 26 doctors were killed in Pakistan by Islamist militants and criminals, police say, and those who have been threatened or survived attacks are seriously considering leaving the country.

Most of the murders happened in the commercial hub of Karachi, and a disproportionate number of victims were from the minority Shiite Muslim community, Reuters reports. Since senior physicians are often wealthy, they are usually kidnapped for ransom, and that money is then used for other criminal endeavors. One doctor, referred to as Raza, said he was waiting for a patient when two men came into his office and shot him six times, leaving him for dead. He was treated in Karachi and then went to Australia for more surgery; while phoning friends to let them know he was safe, he was told a colleague had been killed. Raza is now considering seeking asylum overseas. Another doctor received a phone call during surgery saying he would be killed when he left the hospital; he escaped in an ambulance to the airport and was on the first flight out of the country with his family.

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council reports that more than 9,000 of nearly 200,000 doctors registered in Pakistan have left in the past three years, with fear of being attacked a major factor. This is worrying, experts say, and in 10 years, the situation could be dire. "Pakistan may have to import doctors," Mirza Ali Azhar, general secretary of the Pakistan Medical Association, told Reuters.

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