ISLAMABAD, Nov 10: Local doctors suspended their nine-day old agitation over the thrashing of two colleagues by the relatives of two bureaucrats after the Supreme Court on Monday ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged incident.

Taking suo motu notice of a press report on the incident, a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Ijazul Hassan and Justice Chaudhry Ejaz Yousaf, directed the District and Session Judge Islamabad to conduct the inquiry “affording full opportunity of hearing to all concerned and submit report to the Registrar Supreme Court within a week”.

Shortly afterwards, the Doctors' Action Committee announced the suspension of its agitation for the same period, one week.

Dr Sharif Astori of the committee told a press conference that the purpose of the agitation to seek justice and thanked Chief Justice Dogar for opening a window on that.

“A new strategy would be framed by the committee after observing the situation,” he added, admitting that the agitation by the doctors had caused discomfort to thousands of patients.

Chief Justice Dogar took suo motu notice of the reported incident last Saturday. He asked the federal health secretary and Islamabad’s chief commissioner and inspector-general of police to appear in the court on Monday to report the matter personally.

Health Secretary Suleman Ghani requested the court on Monday to order a judicial inquiry to stop the unpleasant issue from growing.

Last week the official had told a delegation of the Doctors' Action Committee that the health minister would visit the Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH), better known as Polyclinic, to investigate the incident and to judge if a judicial inquiry was needed.

It all started when a woman came to the FGSH on November 1 with her daughter demanding that the little girl be administered anti-rabies vaccine, which she had brought with her. But the two Casualty Medical Officers on duty, one female and the other male, refused to oblige her arguing that the vaccine was unregistered and she did not possess a doctor’s prescription for the same.

That infuriated the lady, who is the daughter of a federal secretary and daughter-in-law of a deputy secretary. Her husband soon arrived at the scene with seven other persons. Together they allegedly thrashed the two reluctant doctors and other hospital staff.

IG Islamabad Asghar Raza Gardezi told the Supreme Court on Monday that on November 3 a FIR was lodged at the Aabpara Police Station under PPC’s Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 147 punishment for rioting), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs50) on the behest of Dr Riffat Pasha.