Young Doctors Association calls off strike after 14 days of protests

F.P. Report

LAHORE: The Young Doctors Association (YDA) has decided to call off the strike across the government hospitals after 14 days of protests.

The YDA general council held a session having detailed discussion till late night.

It was decided in the meeting that protection would be taken from the court in anticipation of disciplinary action by the health department against doctors.

The YDA will request the court to order fulfillment of their fair demands and also seek formation of a judicial inquiry into Sahiwal’s teaching hospital fire incident.

The doctors will also take up in court the demand for restoration and extension of doctors who have been suspended from service.

A day before, the LHC ordered the YDA to call off the strike immediately.

Acting CJ Shujaat Ali remarked, “Punjab is the largest province with 120 million population who connect with you (doctors) daily.”

During the hearing, the judge expressed dismay over the doctors’ presence in court, remarking, “ Doctors must be available in hospitals, not in courts.”

YDA President Dr Shabbir Niazi had filed a petition through Advocate Noshab Khan, making the Punjab government and others respondents.

The YDA pleaded to the court to suspend the decision of postgraduate training closure till the final verdict on the petition.

Earlier, LHC’s Justice Shahid Karim dismissed the plea filed by citizen Mazhar Abbas against young doctors’ strike across government hospitals, declaring it inadmissible.

Justice Shahid Karim remarked that “its government matter of concern, not ours (judiciary)”.

The YDA has been on strike across government hospitals since June 15 after some doctors were detained aftre a fire incident in a teaching hospital of Sahiwal.

Doctors have not been doing duty in OPDs of the hospitals across Punjab. Only emergencies are working.

Around one million patients have been affected owing to strikes in the OPDs. Surgeries and procedures of hundreds of patients have been cancelled.

The Punjab government had ordered doctors to resume their duties in the hospitals and announced that it would make fresh recruitments in the health sector.