QUETTA, Jan 8: Doctors in the the Civil Hospital and Bolan Medical Complex here on Saturday wore black armbands and held protest meetings to protest against the gang-rape of lady doctor in Sui area a few days ago.

This was in response to a call given by the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), urging the community to hold protest rallies and processions against the abominable incident which happened in Sui area of Balochistan.

PMA Balochistan chapter President Dr Sultan Lehri told Dawn on Saturday that his organization and Sindh chapter's PMA representatives were not allowed by the PPL management to meet the victim in Karachi, where they had gone to find out details of the incident.

He said doctors in Quetta and all hospitals of the province would wear black armbands and hold protest meetings until the government arrest criminals involved in this vile act.

Dr Lehri said if the provincial government and Sui police did not arrest the criminals within 72 hours, the Balochistan PMA, in consultations with political parties, student organizations, NGOs and all women organizations, would determine a future line of action to expose elements behind the tragedy.

While bitterly criticizing the government's lukewarm attitude against this serious incident, he wondered why the PPL management was reluctant to tell the whereabouts of the victim or was she alive or not as the doctor had fallen unconscious after the incident and was admitted to an ICU ward of a Karachi hospital.

Dr Lehri also blasted the Sui Police Station officials who, despite the passage of four days, had not registered an FIR of the incident.

Police sources told Dawn here that a sub-inspector had been sent to Karachi to record the statement of the lady doctor.

When asked why the police station did not register the case despite the occurrence of the incident in its jurisdiction, the police official said that neither the lady doctor nor the PPL management had approached the police to lodge an FIR.

A former president of the Balochistan Bar Association, Javed Mohsin advocate, rejected the police version that the FIR could only be registered if the victim or her family members wanted to lodge it.

He said Section 154 of the CrPc empowered an SHO to register a report if any crime came to his knowledge.

He said the police, under articles of offences against property or Enforcement of the Hudood Ordinance, 1979, was bound to initiate an action against criminals.

He said the incident would deter all doctors, especially lady doctors, from serving in far-flung areas of the country because of the sense of insecurity created by the incident, thereby depriving the women population of remote areas of services of female doctors.