Follow-up protest: Doctors, lawyers accuse each other of starting brawl

Say the committee formed to probe into the matter has not contacted them.

FAISALABAD:

Dozens of doctors and paramedics of Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, on Saturday staged a protest demonstration accusing lawyers of beating up their colleagues at the Samundri tehsil headquarters hospital on Friday.

Khurram Sohail Raja of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) told the media that the doctors at Samundri THQ Hospital were beaten up because “they had issued a medical examination certificate based on facts.”

Abdus Sattar Qureshi of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) said, “We will continue to support the doctors who were insulted and beaten up by lawyers.”

Rai Muhammad Arif of the Rural Doctors Association (RDA) alleged that the police were patronising the lawyers instead of being impartial.

“Police did not stop the lawyers from damaging the hospital and beating up staff,” he said.

The protestors blocked Jail Road and demanded immediate action against those responsible for beating up their colleagues.

The protest ended after City Police Officer (CPO) Haidar Ashraf assured the protestors that the matter would be dealt with in accordance with law.

Meanwhile, lawyers in Samundri boycotted court proceedings on Saturday and protested against the doctors for beating up their colleagues.

Former Samundri Tehsil Bar Association president Rana Muhammad Irshad told The Express Tribune that the strike would go on until cases were registered against the doctors responsible for “humiliating and beating up” the lawyers.

He said the Faisalabad Bar Association (DBA) had also agreed to join the strike. “They will also boycott court proceedings on Monday,” he said.

“A similar SOS was sent to the Punjab Bar Council (PBC) for boycotting proceedings throughout the Punjab to condemn the incident,” he added.

Irshad said the committee constituted by the district coordination officer (DCO) to probe into the incident within 24 hours had not contacted them.

Samundri THQ Hospital Medical Superintendent Muneer Ahmad Naz told to The Express Tribune the committee had not contacted him.

“The doctors will have no option but to go on strike if such incidents are not stopped,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2014.