NAWABSHAH, May 25: Doctors, nurses and paramedical staff of the People's Medical College Hospital, held a demonstration outside the administrative block on Tuesday to protest the attack on hospital staff allegedly by Muttahida Qaumi Movement workers.

Routine operation theatre lists were postponed and out- patients also suffered because of the strike. Some MQM workers allegedly attacked the PMC administrative block on Monday and beat up senior doctors, including assistant medical superintendent Dr Ismail Arain and deputy medical superintendent Dr Naseer Shaikh, OS??? Abdul Wadood and some clerical staff besides ransacking offices.

DMS Dr Shaikh, who received serious head injuries, was admitted in the neurosurgery ward of the hospital. On Tuesday, the hospital staff suspended duties and held a protest demonstration, carrying banners and raising slogans for arrest of the persons involved in the attack.

Speaking to the protesters, Dr Shams Shaikh, Dr Abdul Qayoom Memon as well as Saleem Bhatti of the Paramedical Staff Association strongly denounced the attack, terming it a shameful act, and announced that medical, paramedical and other staff would observe an hour-long daily strike - 11am to noon - until the assailants were arrested.

An action committee comprising Dr Abdul Qayoom Memon, Saleem Bhatti of the paramedical association, Mohammad Khan Brohi of the All Pakistan Clerk's Association and nurse Shabeera Burdi was formed to evolve a future strategy.

Later, an FIR was lodged by DMS Dr Shaikh with the A-section police against MQM zonal organizer Rasheed Bhaiya, Laung Khan Channa and others under section 147, 148, 437, 353, 337, 504 PPC and H/2, L/2, A/1 and F/1 QSS. However, no arrest was made till the filing of this report.