PESHAWAR: The University Town police on Friday booked a doctor following a brawl between a senior Lady Reading Hospital executive and at least four doctors near Tehkal late on Thursday, official said.

The fight occurred shortly after a doctor was allegedly roughed up by the LRH administration’s members.

Both incidents fueled the rancour between the health department and doctors and other allied staff, who have been protesting under the banner of the Grand Health Alliance for over three weeks against the enactment of the KP Regional and District Health Authorities Act, 2019.

Hospital says will stop troublemakers from entering OPD

The doctors have been boycotting duty since Sept 27 when their protest against the passage of the RDHA Act, 2019, by the provincial assembly the same day turned violent leading to the arrest of more than 15 doctors. Several other medics suffered injuries.

Both the GHA and health officials blame violence on each other.GHA spokesperson Dr Hazrat Akbar told Dawn that LRH associate hospital director Tariq Burki on Monday attacked one of the doctors, who was going to the emergency ward, and got him beaten up.

He said in the evening, four other doctors had organised a party at a University Road food outlet to celebrate their success in a specialisation examination, while one of their doctor friends waited for them in Tehkal area.

Dr Hazrat Akbar said Mr Burki saw that doctor at a filling station and thought he was waiting for him, so he got out of his vehicle and started arguing with him.

He added that the doctor’s four friends showed up causing that incident to become a brawl.

The GHA spokesperson said Mr Burki’s guard fired around 30 shots.

He said the University Town police later registered a case against one of the doctors but the GHA’s application against the hospital’s official had yet to be taken up.

Dr Hazrat Akbar said a jirga of senior doctors had approached the alliance, which had handed over a charter of demands to it.

He, however, said the incidents had soured the environment for talks.

However, a LRH spokesperson accused the five doctors of chasing the associate hospital director.

“After a chase, these doctors came out of their cars and attacked Tariq Burki,” he alleged.

The spokesman said the five doctors beat up Mr Burki and ran away following the guard fired bullets in the air.

He said Mr Burki, who hurt his arms and head in the incident, was stable.

The spokesman said the protesting doctors issued threats to the LRH administration for resisting their protest.

He said the LRH administration was very keen to stop the doctors, who troubled patients and threatened other doctors, from entering the OPD.

The spokesman said earlier on Thursday, the protesting doctors made a ruckus in OPD.

He said the argument between protesting doctors and LRH staff led to a scuffle.

Earlier in Sept, the district administration booked 35 doctors under 3-MPO.

Fifteen of them were arrested but they were released earlier last Friday following the detention orders were withdrawn at the request of the a senior doctors jirga.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2019