November 22, 2007	Thursday	Ziqa’ad 11, 1428

GUJRANWALA, Nov 21: Doctors and paramedical staff of DHQ hospital continued their one-hour strike here on Wednesday in protest against the rising incidence of robbery.

Two days ago, some outlaws kidnapped surgeon Dr Abdul Rehman Alvi, mother of Pakistan Medical Association secretary-general Dr Sohail Anjum Butt and son of child specialist Dr Jafri in separate hits and deprived them of cash, car, gold jewellery and mobile phones while the police could not arrest robbers in any of the incident.

Later, doctors held a meeting presided over by PMA president Dr Sardar Riaz Ahmad and decided to start token strike for one hour daily from 12 noon to 1pm at outdoor department for three days. DHQ hospital medical superintendent Dr Ali Muhammad and other senior doctors also participated in it.

A doctors’ delegation, led by executive district officer (health) Dr Nisar Ahmad Cheema, MS Dr Ali Muhammad and PMA chief Dr Sardar Riaz, held a meeting with city police officer DIG Khadim Husain Bhatti at his office who assured them that robbers would be arrested soon.

NOMINATIONS: About a dozen aspirants collected nomination papers from courts on the first day here on Wednesday after the announcement of election schedule by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Those who collected nomination papers for national assembly seats are: Advocate Shahzad Ashraf Butt, Manzoor Qadir Bhinder, Dr Zafar Chaudhry, Kokab Bukhari and Saleem Raza Gilani. For Punjab Assembly elections, former provincial minister Rana Shamshad Ahmad Khan, Advocate Tahir Ahmed, Hassan Saifullah, Nadim Saifullah, Khalid Masood Butt and Hassan Saif Butter obtained papers.

However, people hailing from opposition parties — PPP, PML-N and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf — did not get nomination papers.