LAHORE: The Punjab government pledges to take to task the elements who vandalised the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) and were responsible for the loss of lives.

“Those who attacked the PIC will not escape punishment as vandalism at the hospital cannot be tolerated,” Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said before leaving for Islamabad on Thursday.

Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja and Chief Secretary Azam Suleman accompanied the CM for the meeting.

“An inquiry has been initiated into the unfortunate incident in which the lawyers attacked the PIC and committed the worst act against humanity by torturing patients and their relatives there,” said Mr Buzdar. He was presiding over a cabinet committee on law and order to review various aspects of the incident.

Expressing condolences to the families of the three patients who lost their lives owing to the violent clash between the lawyers and the hospital staff, he said the identification process of the suspects had been initiated with the help of CCTV footages.

The government has announced Rs1 million each as compensation for the families of the three victims, whereas replacement of the damaged machines and repairs of the furniture and building was going on. He hoped that the hospital would be again made functional within 24 hours by carrying out the repair and replacement process.

Around four dozen lawyers had been taken into custody and produced before an anti-terrorism court on Thursday. The court sent them to jail on judicial remand.

Meanwhile, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid says the government is standing by the doctors tortured by the lawyers and will provide protection to the medical professionals and their patients.

She chaired a meeting at the PIC to analyse various aspects of the assault.

She assured the hospital representatives that the government would extend financial support after completing the estimates of the damage caused to official and private properties during the attack.

Condemning the lawyers’ attack, she said they challenged the writ of the government warranting a stern action against them.

Dr Rashid pledged to take the culprits to their logical end and claimed that she too was tortured along with other ministers during the violent protest.

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke to Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan who had been tortured by the lawyers at the PIC when he went there for a dialogue with the protesters. He lauded the minister’s courageous step of reaching the troubled point in time in a bid to solve the issue.

He said the minister played his due role and the misbehaviour of the lawyers must not deter him (Chohan) from performing his responsibilities.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2019