LAHORE: The Young Doctors Association (YDA) announced on Sunday that it would observe a strike initially in outpatient departments of Lahore hospitals from Monday in protest against the arrest of suspended medical superintendent of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology.

The Lahore chapter of the Pakistan Medical Association also protested against the arrest and removal of other PIC officials.

Dr Salim Jaffar was picked up by the Federal Investigation Agency from Jail Road earlier in the day. The Punjab government declared the FIA move uncalled for.

It said the PIC officials, including its Chief Executive Prof Dr Azhar, had been removed to ensure a transparent judicial inquiry.

Dr Jaffar and other doctors and staff of the PIC were removed or suspended from service on Saturday by the chief minister.

The Punjab government announced that it had requested the Lahore High Court to hold a judicial inquiry into the deaths caused by medicines provided free to heart patients by government hospitals.

Health Secretary Dr Jehanzeb was also removed.

FIA officials confirmed the arrest of Dr Jaffar and said more people could be nabbed, if required, for investigation.

The FIA had earlier arrested owners of three local medicine companies which had supplied drugs to the PIC and got their remand from a judicial magistrate for interrogation.

Provincial government officials went into hectic negotiations with office-holders of the doctors’ association to avert their strike. A meeting between the YDA and new Health Secretary Arif Nadeem was in progress till late Sunday night.

Announcing the strike, YDA President Hamid Butt said the government was trying to blame the doctors for the deaths although they had nothing to do with the manufacture, purchase or distribution of the drugs.

He urged the chief minister to resign because being in charge of the health ministry he was directly responsible for the supply of substandard medicines.

Mr Butt demanded that an inquiry be held by people with knowledge about medicines and not by police, administrative officers or anybody else.

The Pakistan Medical Association also called for a technical inquiry to determine the cause of the deaths and said taking action against doctors without involving the healthcare commission was illegal.

Meanwhile, the First Aid General Practitioners Association, Punjab, condemned the call for strike given by the YDA and termed it a move to blackmail the provincial government.

The Punjab government has been facing severe crisis in the health sector for about a year.

The YDA observed a strike early last year for 37 days for a better pay package. Around 300 patients reportedly died during the strike and the government had to announce a Rs5.2 billion pay package.

Then dengue epidemic struck the province.

In December last year, nurses started protesting for better salary. Later, the government accepted their demands.