ISLAMABAD: Police on Wednesday baton-charged protesting foreign medical graduates and took dozens into custody after they blocked one of the main highways of the capital, throwing traffic into disarray on Wednesday.

Hundreds of people, who had obtained medical degrees from abroad, gathered outside the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) building in G-10/4 and staged a protest against its decision of not to issue ‘Registered Medical Practitioner’ certificate to those who studied medicine in blacklisted foreign universities.

When the police and senior capital administration officials received information about the protest, they rushed to the spot.

In the meantime, the protesters moved over to Srinagar Highway and staged a sit-in there, suspending traffic. The officials tried to negotiate with them to vacate the highway but they refused, causing miles-long queues of vehicles.

Later, the protesters marched towards G-9 signal and staged a sit-in there as well, which led to traffic mess on nearby roads and sectors, including G-9, G-10, G-11, H-11, H-9, H-10, I-9 and along Faisal Avenue and Islamabad Expressway.

The police tried to remove the protesters from the highway which led to a physical confrontation between them, even resorting to baton charge and using water cannons, but these measures also failed to disperse them.

The police picked up dozens of protesters and shifted them to different police stations where they were detained.

Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat reached the site and invited a delegation of doctors for negotiations.

After two-hour long talks, the foreign medical graduates agreed to end their protest and disperse.

Mr Shafqaat told Dawn that negotiations were held in the PMC building where the protesters were informed that the commission had blacklisted those foreign universities which were also blacklisted in their own countries. Under such circumstances, degrees will not be awarded to those students who got medical education from such institutions, he added.

The negotiations remained successful and the protesters agreed to end the protest after which those who had been detained were also released.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2021