Pakistan: Young doctors in Punjab shut operation theatres of govt hospitals

LAHORE : The young doctors in Pakistan’s Punjab on Tuesday closed down operation theatres of several hospitals across the province after the police uprooted the protest camp of employees of state-run health facilities on Monday, and registered an FIR against 200-300 protesters, allegedly for targeting police and injuring several personnel, Dawn reported.

The FIR was registered at the Civil Lines police station after a sub-inspector’s complaint against the protesters included serious charges. The FIR mentions Young Doctors Association (YDA) Punjab’s senior leaders, including its president, and stated that the protesters, including women, were allegedly carrying dangerous weapons when they attacked the police on Monday.

The FIR alleged that the police stopped protesters from entering the ‘red zone’ where international cricketers were staying in a hotel. However, the protesters posed a threat to the player’s security and injured several policemen. It said the suspect chanted slogans, threatened the government of dire consequences in addition to attacking and damaging official properties.

The young medical personnel expressed their anger over the patients and shut the operation theatres (OTs) of many teaching hospitals in Punjab on Tuesday after the call given by YDA Punjab leaders.

YDA members visited the operation theatres of various hospitals in groups and forced the on-duty doctors and nurses to leave the facilities and then shut the surgical facilities, Dawn reported, citing sources.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, YDA Pakistan President Atif Majeed condemned the lodging of the FIR against government hospital employees. Majeed said they were holding peacefully for their “legitimate demands.”

He refuted the allegations of an attack on the police and that protesters carried knives or other sharp surgical tools. Atif stated that the employees would not be held responsible for any harm to patients during the strike in government hospitals.

He criticised senior doctors, including professors, who continued to treat patients at the outpatient departments (OPDS) of public hospitals during the employees’ strike. He urged Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to intervene and resolve the issue, Dawn reported.

Majeed said that the ruling elite in Punjab were not willing to give a sympathetic hearing to the protesting employees. Reports have claimed that employees continued to hold a protest at Charing Cross, where they had been holding a sit-in, blocking the traffic on both sides of The Mall, for the past three weeks. (ANI)