LAHORE, July 6: The Lahore High Court directed the striking young doctors on Friday to resume work in emergency wards of public sector hospitals by Saturday morning.  The court also directed the Punjab government not to unduly harass the striking doctors and allow them to return to emergency wards.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan issued the directives while hearing petitions against the strike and for cancellation of young doctors’ licences for allegedly committing professional misconduct.

Punjab Health Secretary Arif Nadeem assured the court that the government would have no objection to the return of doctors nor would it stop them from resuming work in emergency wards.

The judge expressed the hope that the Young Doctors Association (YDA) would abide by its commitment and resume work in emergency wards.

During the proceedings, representatives of the YDA were reluctant to come up with any commitment about resuming work at the outdoor patient department (OPD) in hospitals when the judge asked them to call off their strike completely.

They demanded that their colleagues arrested in a case about the death (murder) of a baby should be released immediately and the case against them quashed.

But the judge said the doctors were on remand and the court could not order their release without hearing the complainant.

“The court has sympathy for the young doctors but denying treatment to patients is illegal and the strike is a clear violation of Supreme Court’s directives,” Justice Ahsan observed.

Dr Basit, the counsel for the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, told the court that not only the strike by young doctors was illegal but the YDA itself was also illegal. He said the young doctors had been committing professional misconduct and the council received two references against them. “The council being a regulatory body can cancel their (doctors) licences,” he said.

But the judge asked the counsel not to take any adverse action against the striking doctors till a decision on the case.

Additional Advocate General Faisal Zaman informed the court that 32 striking doctors detained by the government had been released. He said parents of the doctors had given an assurance that they would not participate in any protest. But the doctors had not called off the strike so far, he added.

Mr Zaman said the Supreme Court had declared the strike by young doctors illegal and also restrained them from such activity in future. But, he said, the doctors went on strike again in violation of the SC order.

He said that in compliance with the SC orders, a court-constituted committee had submitted the proposed service structure for young doctors. He said the Punjab chief minister had also set up a commission comprising representatives from the government and medical profession to resolve the issue.

Advocate Azhar Siddique, representing the petitioners, said the young doctors should be asked why instead of approaching any court of law for their grievances they opted to go on strike. He said by denying treatment to patients, the doctors had violated Article 9 of the Constitution and committed contempt of court.

He alleged that the YDA representatives had not only observed strike but also forcibly stopped other doctors who wanted to continue work. He said that in the presence of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) the establishment of an unregistered body (YDA) suggested political motives.

He urged the court to direct the PMDC to take action against the striking doctors.

Earlier on court’s permission, YDA Punjab Secretary-General Nasir Abbas delivered an emotional speech on the issue. He cried when he told the court about ‘injustice’ being meted out to young doctors.

But he had no answer to the question why the doctors went on strike instead of knocking at the door of courts against the ‘injustice’.

Mr Abbas insisted that the four doctors arrested in the murder case should be released immediately. He said that under the Punjab Health Care Commission Act, doctors could not be booked under Section 302 of the PPC in case of any alleged negligence resulting into death of a patient.

He said YDA President Hamid Butt could not appear before the court because of fear of arrest as police continued to raid residences of doctors.

Mr Abbas claimed that the doctors were going to call off their strike but the government had ordered their arrest and police started raiding their residences and hostels.

The court adjourned hearing till Saturday and summoned complete record of the case registered against the doctors of Mayo Hospital on charges of murdering a minor boy.