FAISALABAD: A large number of doctors from the Allied and DHQ hospitals organised a procession and suspended services for an hour at their respective outpatient departments (OPD) against police for registering a fraud case against a lady doctor.

The procession started from the OPD of Allied Hospital and culminated at the Punjab Medical College. The doctors shouted slogans against police and condemned registration of a case against Dr Samina Khalid, who is running a private clinic in Jinnah Colony.

Representatives of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Young Doctors Association (YDA), Medical Teachers Association (MTA) and Private Hospital Association (PHA) participated in the protest.

Addressing the protesters, MTA Secretary Dr Khurram Sohail alleged some lawyers had taken lower courts hostage and were getting favourable orders by exerting pressure on judges.

He claimed several times lower court judges made doctors sit for hours, but lawyers were never asked to wait. He said such elements were destroying rule of law.

PMA President Dr Mohammad Arif and Secretary Dr Mohammad Irfan alleged the applicant, lawyer Muazam Ali, had misused Dr Samina’s letterhead and a case must be registered against him instead. They said instead of targeting doctors, police must chase robbers and gangsters who had made lives of people miserable.

YDA Faisalabad President Maroof Vaince said doctors would suspend their services at all wards, except emergency, if the first information report registered under Section 420 of the PPC was not withdrawn by Gulberg police. He said doctors would also stage a sit-in for an indefinite period and call it off only when their demands were accepted.

He further said doctors from other districts would also be taken into confidence to expand the scope of the protest because police officials were not following the Healthcare Commission Act.

PHA President Dr Saulat Nawaz said private hospitals were catering to the needs of about 80pc patients. Continuous harassment of the private sector by police will ultimately hit patients, he added.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2016