LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar took notice of disparity in salaries of doctors working at government-owned health facilities, saying those called from abroad are paid a hefty sum while the local ones are given a small amount.

During a hearing at Supreme Court?s Lahore registry on Saturday, the chief justice said the doctors at a state-of-the-art facility of the government, such as Pakistan Kidney and Liver Transplant Institute (PKLI), get a salary of Rs1.2 million while on the other hand, the ones working at a government hospitals gets Rs0.2 million.

The chief justice remarked PKLI is an institute which hires foreign doctors. But what was the fault of doctors performing duties earnestly at government hospitals, he asked.

He added that the chief secretary himself gets around Rs0.2 million, but those appointed by him were getting a higher pay.

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Under what law was such a gap in salaries decided, the chief justice asked, saying it was this disparity that forced doctors of government hospitals to run private clinics on the side.

He demanded the government hospital doctors be also paid a high salary so that they do not have to practise illegally and fulfil their duties at government hospitals with honesty.

The chief justice also sought details of hospitals being run on funds by Recep Tayyib Erdogan Trust and said that he would continue to survey hospitals even if anyone had a problem with him doing so.