The nurses’ strike in Islamabad. PHOTO: ONLINE
Nurses from public hospitals in the twin cities gave a two-day ultimatum to the Punjab government on Saturday to release 10 detained nurses besides taking punitive action against police officials who fatally-injured a nurse.
“If not released by Monday, we all will observe a complete strike while withdrawing our services from outpatient departments and emergency wards,” they said while staging a protest outside the National Press Club (NPC) against the police crackdown on nurses in Lahore.
Earlier, the nurses and other paramedical staff held a two-hour peaceful rally on the premises of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) to show solidarity with their counterparts in Lahore and to condemn the police action against the nursing staff on Friday.
Meanwhile, nurses from the three main government hospitals in Rawalpindi marched from Benazir Bhutto Hospital and held a peaceful rally on Benazir Bhutto Road. Some Rawalpindi nurses also joined the protest outside the NPC.
The protesters chanted slogans against the Punjab government, saying nurses were peacefully demanding their rights when they were brutally trashed by the police.
Representing the Pims Nursing Association, Rab Nawaz told The Express Tribune, “We are all shocked at the death of a nurse. She was seven months pregnant and was out on the road to fight for her right. All she was demanding was regularisation of adhoc nurses.”
“We will raise our voice against such inhuman acts and keep fighting till the culprits are arrested and punished,” he said.
Yasmeen, a nurse from Polyclinic said, “We serve the masses round the clock. Whenever there is an emergency, we are always at the front, looking after the victims. Receiving such harsh treatment from the government and the police is just shocking.”
Noshin, a nurse at the Pims, said such brutal acts made them feel insecure.
“Whenever policemen get injured and come to the hospital, we look after them to the best of our capacity. It is shocking to see how they treated our colleagues yesterday,” she said.
Shamim Rasheed, a nurse from Polyclinic said, “The sad part of the story is that they all were protesting peacefully and their issue could be resolved amicably. Unfortunately they had to face the inhuman behaviour of the police, who are supposed to protect them.”
Farzana Bari, a human right activist who later joined the protesters, said it is a time to get united and fight against such cruelty.
She strongly condemned the incident and urged the government to take immediate action against the police officers involved.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 16th, 2014.
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