No holds barred: Irate medical students hold mock funeral for government

Say the government has not given them any assurances despite their protests and requests

DERA GHAZI KHAN: Scores of students from Dera Ghazi Khan Medical College held a demonstration on Monday that aimed to protest the silence of the provincial government in view of their on-going protests. They held a mock funeral of the government.

The ‘funeral’ was held at a protest camp students have set up in front of the medical college for almost a week. They shouted slogans demanding that the government take immediate steps to get their college registered with the Pakistan Medical and Dentist Association.



Former chief minister Sardar Dost Muhammad Khan Khosa, former state minister Khawaja Shiraz Mehmood and former MNA Sardar Saifuddin Khan Khosa also participated in the protest.

The students of Dera Ghazi Khan Medical College have been protesting for five days.

On Monday, they locked the college’s main gate and shouted slogans against the provincial government. They said some people in the government wanted the college in Dera Ghazi Khan to fail. “That is why they are using delaying tactics…Sitting lawmakers from our area have not shown any interest in solving our problems.”

Dost Muhammad Khan Khosa said that the government was conspiring against the college because he was the one who had approved of it. “This government is only interested in building infrastructure in Lahore…it has no time for the youth and students of the rest of the province.”

He criticised elected representatives for keeping mum on the matter. “Their attitude speaks volumes of how much they care about problems in this area.” He said if the government continued to ignore the students of Dera Ghazi Khan Medical College, they would launch a district-wide movement against them.



Speakers at the rally said the future of nearly 600 students was at stake.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2016.