LAHORE: Except for the Services Hospital, normalcy returned to all the teaching hospitals of the city on Wednesday, while a group of young doctors warned the authorities of another strike if their demands were not met within 48 hours.

According to officials, young doctors started arriving at the outpatient departments (OPDs) of Mayo, Sir Ganga Ram, Lady Willingdon, Lady Aitchison, Lahore General, Children’s and Jinnah hospitals as usual in the morning. Police deployment around the OPDs initially kept the patients away but later on their turnout was much higher as compared to Wednesday’s, they added.

The Services Hospital chapter of Young Doctors Association (YDA), however, claimed at a news conference that all OPDs in the state-run hospitals in Lahore remained closed.

YDA’s Dr Salman Hasseb alleged the Anti Corruption Establishment (ACE) raided the Services Hospital at the behest of health department as the association’s senior vice-president Dr Atif Majeed was planning to launch a campaign to highlight wrongdoings of bureaucracy.

ACE won’t be blackmailed by protesting doctors: DG

“The ACE officials tortured Dr Atif, who is still under treatment at the intensive care unit of the hospital,” he said, warning the government that if the ‘culprits’ were not arrested within 48 hours, all OPDs in Punjab would be closed down.

An ACE spokesman said cases had been registered against Dr Atif Majeed and Dr Salman Haseeb on the basis of an inquiry conducted by Chief Minister Inspection Team (CMIT) into embezzlement of funds and misuse of hospital resources.

ACE DG: Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment Director General retired Brig Muzaffar Ali Ranjha has said his department will not be “blackmailed” by the protesting doctors and all those involved in corruption will be arrested.

“We will not be blackmailed by the corrupt elements. We will establish writ of law at any cost,” Mr Ranjaha said in a statement here on Wednesday in response to the doctors’ protest over the corruption case against Dr Atif Majid of the Services Hospital.

The ACE provincial boss said the FIR had been registered against a doctor and others after completion of a year-long inquiry.

“The suspects should better surrender themselves to the ACE instead of staging protest. They (suspects) should not hide behind the doctors community,” Mr Ranjha said and asked doctors to throw out black sheep in their ranks.

“The ACE will not hold dialogue with any one on this matter as it is not a political issue and will arrest the corrupt doctors,” he said unequivocally.

ACE spokesman Abid Noor Bhatti told Dawn the department had initiated action against some 16 people, including some doctors, for their alleged involvement in corruption of millions of rupees in the Services Hospital.

“The suspects allegedly embezzled funds in purchase of equipment, medicines and salary (of some staff),” he said, adding the suspects could not escape the arrest.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2017