RAWALPINDI, Oct 26: The Young Doctors Association in Rawalpindi has called off their protest planned for Monday (today) after Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif pledged to meet their demands including salary increase, promotion and safety during working hours.

Chief Coordinator of the association at Benazir Bhutto Hospital Dr Sherin Yousafzai told Dawn that the planned move to lock hospitals had been cancelled after the assurance by the provincial government that the doctors’ legitimate demands would be met.

“There would be no protest and the young doctors including house officers would continue work. We are thankful to the government for acknowledging our demands and averting the planned protest that could have paralysed medical services in hospitals,” Dr Yousafzai said.

He said the protest had been called off on the directives of the provincial office-bearers of the YDA. The doctors have been locking hospitals as a protest against the government for not increasing their salaries and resolving other issues.