QUETTA: The Young Doctors Association (YDA) has decided to boycott the 10-day special coronavirus vaccination drive announced by the health department in 10 districts of Balochistan and said the association would take out a peaceful rally in the provincial capital on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference along with Young Nurses Association president Malik Aziz Kakar on Tuesday, YDA president Dr Hafeez Mandokhail said Balochistan was already facing a shortage of nurses. He said the association had given the government 48 hours to meet their demands, but no headway was made and still 19 doctors and other people were in police lockup and cases against them were not withdrawn.

“Our sit-in should not be considered as silence. We talk about reforms in the health sector. We are not against the esteemed court. When the chief minister fell ill, he left for Karachi. We have boycotted emergency services. The government is being given another respite,” Dr Mandokhail said.

He said the YDA planned to take out a rally on Wednesday and after that emergency services would be closed if demands were not met. “The government is being given another respite at the behest of political and social organisations. Fixing mach­ines in hospitals is not our responsibility. Our movement is for the people. Let the people support us,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2021