Protest Erupts: Young Doctors Clash with Police Over Outsourcing

Young doctors, led by the YDA, clashed with police on Mall Road protesting hospital outsourcing. Water cannons were used, causing unrest and hospitalization of leaders. Despite crackdowns, protests continue as OPDs close and demonstrators stage sit-ins, raising tensions between medical staff and authorities.

Tensions escalated on Mall Road as police deployed water cannons to disperse young doctors protesting the outsourcing of hospitals. The confrontation left two individuals unconscious, including YDA Punjab President Dr. Shoaib Niazi, according to reports from the Dawn. The conflict began as protestors, spearheaded by Dr. Niazi, initiated a march from Charing Cross to the Chief Minister's Secretariat, opposing plans to outsource public hospitals.

Post-Friday prayers, a significant gathering of young doctors, nurses, and paramedics progressed their march despite police suggestions to dismantle at Charing Cross. The YDA leadership rejected these proposals, following through with their initial route. Witnesses cited by Dawn alleged police violence, including beatings, before deploying water cannons to disperse the assembly. Viral footage depicted Dr. Niazi lying unconscious on the street, while police dismissed the incident as dramatics, asserting the water pressure was low and used solely for crowd control.

Protesters accused authorities of employing contaminated water that allegedly caused the fainting of two individuals, claims the police negated, calling it a tactic to garner public empathy, as reported by the Dawn. Dr. Niazi vowed to escalate the protests, hinting at strikes in hospital OPDs. Meanwhile, police criticized the YDA for involving female staff as human shields against prior agreements to contain protests to Charing Cross, the Dawn highlighted.

Despite stringent police action, some women protestors circumvented security to conduct a sit-in at Club Chowk while others amassed outside the Alhamra building. Concurrently, paramedics at Lahore General Hospital (LGH) halted services at OPDs and certain wards, protesting the suspension of staff supporting the anti-outsourcing cause. Reports revealed staff locked doctor rooms and evicted patients, heightening the ongoing confrontation. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)