KARACHI: Police on Monday baton-charged protesting doctors and nurses and took into custody over 23 of them, including females, to prevent them from marching on the Chief Minister House.

The young doctors and nurses have been protesting for regularisation of their jobs as they were appointed by the provincial government to deal with Covid-19 pandemic and resolution of issues being faced by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation-run hospitals.

On Monday, the doctors and paramedics began their march from the Karachi Press Club and when they reached near Arts Council traffic intersection, a heavy contingent of police stopped them from moving further by placing barricades on the main roads.

The protesters staged a sit-in there for a considerable time due to which Din Mohammed Wafai Road and Sarwar Shaeed Road were closed for vehicular traffic.

A traffic mess was witnessed on I. I. Chundrigar Road, Abullah Haroon Road, Dr Ziauddin Road, etc because of the protest as traffic was diverted to alternative routes.

Saddar SP Zahida Parveen and other officials held talks with the protesters near YMCA Ground in a bid to convince the doctors to end their protest. However, the talks did not yield any positive results and several doctors and paramedics resumed their protest and started march on the CM House upon which the police used force to stop them.

“The police resorted to baton-charge and manhandled the protesting doctors and nurses,” said Dr Umer of the Young Doctors Association-Sindh.

He said 23 doctors and healthcare workers, including YDA office-bearers Dr Faisal, Dr Roshan, Dr Husain and Dr Shahzad, were taken into custody.

The doctors and paramedics staged a sit-in near the YMCA ground on Deen Muhammad Wafai Road and it was ended late in the night after the police released the held doctors and nurses.

Dr Faizan Memon of the YDA-Sindh said that the protesters had returned to their camp outside the press club after ending their sit-in near YMCA Ground.

He said on Monday night that the general council of YDA-Sindh decided to observe a ‘black day’ on Tuesday (today) across the province against the arrests and police action.

He said a two-hour token boycott of all out-patient departments would be carried out and all Covid vaccination centres would remain closed. He said if their demands were not fulfilled within the next week, they would resume their march on the CM House.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2021