ISLAMABAD – Hundreds of Pakistani doctors in Saudi Arabia are bracingthemselves for the loss of their jobs and deportation after the Gulfkingdom’s abrupt decision earlier this month to reject Pakistanipostgraduate medical degrees.
According to termination letters issued by the Saudi Commission for HealthSpecialties (SCFHS) and cited by Pakistani newspaper Dawnlink on 7 August, Saudi authorities nolonger recognise Pakistani postgraduate degree programmes – MS (Master ofSurgery) and MD (Doctor of Medicine) – as acceptable qualifications for amedical licence.link
“Your application for professional qualification has been rejected. Reasonis that your master degree from Pakistan is not acceptable according to theSCFHS regulations,” reads a letter.
According to Dawn, the majority of those who received the letter have beentold to leave the country or be ready for imminent deportation.
Read Top Stories
The Saudi ministry claimed that the degrees lacked essential medicaltraining required for senior jobs.
The news has come as a shock to many Pakistani doctors in the kingdom, manyof whom have been working in Saudi Arabia for decades.
