KARACHI, Nov 19: The Pakistan Medical Association on Monday expressed its solidarity with the protesting doctors of Balochistan and warned that if their demands were not met soon, a nationwide protest would be launched.

At a meeting of the PMA, central and Karachi, at the PMA House, which was presided over by PMA president Prof S. Tipu Sultan, the office-bearers expressed concern over the police action against a rally of doctors in Quetta on Monday.

“The forces mishandled and tortured the doctors and arrested more than 100 of them, including senior professors and office-bearers of the PMA. Doctors were brutally tortured and some of them were critically wounded, including principal of the Bolan Medical College Prof Shahnaz, doctors Bashir, Iqbal, Ayoub, Saifullah Nasir and others,” a PMA press release said.

The meeting resolved that if the situation persisted, the PMA would give a call for a nationwide protest and the governments would be responsible for the consequences. The PMA also demanded safe recovery of Dr Saeed and provision of security to the doctors all over the country.

The meeting was attended by doctors Mirza Ali Azhar, S.M. Qaisar Sajjad, Qazi Wasiq, Ahmed Bhimani, Hamid Manzoor, Serajuddulla and others.

The PMA is likely to announce its “future strategy” at a press conference on Tuesday.