RAHIM YAR KHAN: Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital Principal Prof Dr Mukhtar Ahmed has requested the district police officer (DPO) to provide security to doctors, ministerial/administrative and paramedical staff of the health facility.

In a letter No 74643-48 to the DPO on Dec 20, 2019, the SZMCH principal said the faculty and staff of the hospital and medical college along with the representative bodies had expressed their concern that lawyers had threatened the doctors and paramedical staff through video messages on the social media and used abusive language.

“The doctors have shown concern that such a behaviour could destroy the peaceful atmosphere of the institution. In order to maintain the discipline in the SZMCH due to their (lawyers) unlawful activities, it is very necessary to provide the security on a priority basis,” says the letter.

Meanwhile, YDA SZMCH chapter president Asif Ali Mughal also wrote a letter to the chief minister and requested him to denotify Board of Management (BOM) member Hassan Mustafa who is president of the RYK District Bar Association (DBA).

The YDA claimed that Hassan Mustafa passed a resolution against the doctors that created unrest in the community. Being a member of the Board, he should have played a positive role to create harmony.

SZMCH Director Security Dr Hafiz Umar Jamil told Dawn that some lawyers had threatened the YDA doctors on their mobile phones with dire consequences. He said he had enhanced the security after having the CCTV cameras repaired.

He said he had demanded 50 more security guards for patrolling in the institution and closed the additional gates.

He said the name of Hassan Mustafa as member BOM was wrongly notified by the government and changed the very next day but Mr Mustafa got stay orders from the Lahore High Court’s Bahawalpur Bench.

RYK DBA general secretary Imran Ashraf on the behalf of the president told this correspondent that the resolution against doctors was passed following a decision of the Punjab Bar Council. He said the lawyers had always given respect to the doctors who appear in courts for evidence but now they would not be provided chairs.

The Bar president later said he and the general secretary had signed a resolution recommending that no protocol would be given to doctors.

DPO’s spokesperson Zeeshan Mehmood Randhawa said police were ensuring security at the hospital.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2019