LAHORE:
“Dear all, I salute the courage of young doctors who are not coming to hospitals despite government pressure. I personally request … if you want to win please stay at homes and also… convince others not to go to hospitals. It’s important as it’s the only way we can fail [sic] government of the Punjab…”
This is a message posted by Dr Hamid Butt, the Young Doctors Association Punjab (YDA) president, on the Facebook wall of several groups on Monday.
After the Sunday night’s crackdown on protesting doctors, YDA leaders are increasingly relying on social media, particularly Facebook, to steer their campaign.
Several YDA leaders, who evaded arrest, are now using Facebook and Twitter to communicate with other members, and shunning cell phones. They have been regularly posting messages regarding the strike and strategy in several closed-groups.
“Please don’t forget the sacrifices of young doctors who are being tortured brutally by the…government of the Punjab,” Dr Butt’s post says.
YDA members are also advised to contact paramedic staff union and nurses’ union and persuade them to call for strike in case doctors are not released immediately.
“In the past whenever they needed us we were with them,” a post says. These posts have been receiving comments calling Dr Butt “the real hero”. Some commentators have criticised Army doctors for leaving Mayo Hospital’s emergency. Young doctors have also thanked senior doctors for their support.
A group called YDA Mayo Hospital has claimed that the media and the police were the only people at the hospitals. Dr Mudassir Razzaq Khan, A YDA general council member, writes he is proud to have been terminated from service.
Rare criticism
Commenting on Dr Khan’s status, Dr Muzammil Iqbal, a Pakistani doctor in Australia, wrote, “The bottomline is that YDA has decided to target the… poor people....killers”.
Talking to The Express Tribune, a YDA leader, said, “We are using social media to show the facts. Telephone calls aren’t safe, so we are communicating mostly through Facebook and other social media. The government cannot stop us from raising a voice for our rights by arresting us or issuing termination letters. We will keep fighting for our rights”.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2012.
COMMENTS (24)
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Doctors, engineers, lecturers and professors should have DIFFERENT service structure than bureaucrats.
drs and the govt are both at fault............. but punjab govt is responsible for the deaths ... all the deaths occured the day after "operation midnight" against the drs.... it outraged most of the young drs .... shabaz sharif lacks political acumen....... what a pity that such a person is governing punjab
@Dr. Ayaz: You are much worried about the doctors receiving fractures. and i personally know a patient with fractured foot and leg, who came three times in a week from Sheikhupura to services hospital lahore but was not attended bcz of your strike and that poor lady had to pay rent for ambulance each time along with the pain she suffered.
You people are so selfish. #ShameYDA
@Dr. Ayaz: While Naeem is on ventilator whole of the staff there should go on strike for their rights. I am ashamed to call you people Doctors or educated.
The nation is full of unemployed [and probably unemployable] doctors. Find some good ones and replace these unrepentent and immoral doctors. As mentioned, there are a 1000 ways to communicate your ire and demands, without going on strike. Constant visibility on the media is enough to push most government agencies into action.
The punjab govt should do the needful but ensure none of the striking doctors are ever able to gain any jobs as doctors, anywhere in Pakistan.
Today the doctors have started coming back to their jobs almost everywhere in Punjab. The doctors who were arrested are released after giving signed apologies statements that they would not go on strike again. For all those political parties who are with the YDA and the doctors should be ashamed of themselves, they are also responsible for the killing of innocent patients.
and I am from karachi and I was never a supporter of PMLN but in this issue, I fully support Shahbaz Sharif in dealing with these militant doctors. All these 'hurtaali doctors''' license/degrees should be scrapped and make them pay the entire fees which Govt payed for their expensive education.
There are so many other ways to stress their demands and the way our doctors are behaving one cannot find any example. They are highly educated creed and should adopt any other apt way to highlight their demands rather than leaving the poor patients die without being treated because wealthy people can afford private doctors and clinics, these are only downtrodden who are suffering and losing their loved ones. We all request the YDA to reconsider their way of strike for pressing their demands
Bureaucrates and politicians enjoy all the perks and privileges while they deny it to doctors and lecturers. If a section officer attain 18th grade within five years why not a doctor and lecturer. We are also thinking to join the doctors for service structure. If it is not viable then deny it to the burocrates as well.
Shame on you YDA..You guys are killer of innocent people.
470 Deaths in PIC fake Medicine Scam done by #Hamza and 17 deaths in Services Hospital Child Ward due to Fire...Police started beating the doctors,fractured the bones,brought 1 doc to the ventilator.pulled female doc.The Punjab govts nonsense n criminal behaviour have pushd doctors to withdraw their duties. #ShamePmln
Dr naem president yda gangaram is on ventilator, two drs have a fractured legs n arms, its the govt who is responsible for emergency closure, shame on CM QATILE ALAA
It is better to die rather than going to a doctor in Punjab.
They are butchers and not doctors.
Had they been doctors, they would have given prefrence to the patients over and above their demands.
These are butchers, they do run their private hospitals, feared from the Govt. of punjab's intiatives as patients are properly entertained in goverment hospitals, who will come their private clinics.
The demands might be legitimate and surely, Punjab government's method of dealing is extremely irresponsible but the strike is completely unjustified.
The doctors could have easily taken their case to the Supreme Court. They have a verdict in their favour as they claim, so if the implementation was not done by the government then why didn't they just file a complain in the Supreme Court. A court that can oust a sitting PM for not implementing the courts's verdict could have easily helped them out. But instead the doctors decided to take their frustration out on the poor masses. No matter how justified their demands are, it doesn't give them a license to cause pain and suffering to others.
Yes these doctors should learn something from doctors working in Sindh. Even the private hospitals don't pay well, sometimes not even equivalent to government hospitals. Residents and trainees have to work for free at times just to gain experience. They have to be on-call every 3rd day and the post-call day is no different than any regular day. If someone has to be in surgery for 10 hours after being on-call, they do. These are the sacrifices which doctors have been making for a very long time and this is why people call medicine a noble profession. So please don't ruin their image with your silly political games.
During initial 12 days of strike there was not a single death. But after police operation there were 15 deaths in one day. So it is CM who is responsible.
ET! cant believe you are with YDA... as far as i know they have not been tortured, but i guess they should... the greedy people who were wearing a mask but now have exposed themselves!
show the mentality of our doctors. murder people and then feel proud on it. sick, pathetic.
Ridiculous!! these doctors should be put on trial!
these butchers should be arrested and hanged for playing with the life of poor people.