KARACHI, Nov 20: Several doctors’ bodies on Tuesday announced their plans for province-wide and country-wide protests, including suspension of duties, if the protesting doctors of Balochistan were not released and cases against them were not withdrawn.

Speaking at a press conference, president and general secretary of the Pakistan Medical Association (centre) Prof Tipu Sultan and Dr Mirza Ali Azhar said that their association was deeply concerned about the plight of doctors in Balochistan.

He said that a meeting decided that if better sense did not prevail in the rank and files of the government and bureaucracy in Balochistan within the next 48 hours, the doctors would stage protest demonstrations and observe a hunger strike in groups across the country.

Dr Azhar said that Monday was the gloomiest day in the history of health sector in the country when hundreds of peaceful doctors demonstrating for the recovery of their kidnapped colleague, Dr Saeed Khan, were brutally attacked by the police on a directive of the chief minister.

He criticised the Balochistan government over the arrest and manhandling of over 70 doctors.

He announced that the PMA withdrew an invitation it had given to CM Raisani to become the chief guest at the 30th biennial medical conference at Quetta. “We, the doctors at Karachi, are also prepared for court arrest to express solidarity with our friends in Balochistan.”

Prof Sultan said he had been in contact with other members of his body for a consensual decision and expressing solidarity with the protesting doctors of Balochistan.

Being a patient-friendly association, if the government failed to solve problems faced by the doctors, the PMA would initially register its protest by staging a sit-in and hunger strikes and later take further decisions to press the government for acceptance of its demands, he added.

The PMA demanded that Balochistan chief minister resign.

It also demanded immediate release of all arrested doctors, withdrawal of all cases against them, an unconditional apology from the Balochistan government, immediate and safe recovery of kidnapped doctors and arrest of all criminals, kidnappers and murderers.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Sindh chapter of the PMA took out a protest rally outside the Karachi Press Club to condemn the police action. The participants chanted slogans demanding immediate release of the doctors of Balochistan.

Later, Dr Samrina Hashmi told a press conference that if the doctors were not unconditionally released within 24 hours and demands of the protesting doctors were not met within the next three days, the medical fraternity would be compelled to take extreme measures, including a complete closure of patients services except the emergency ones, for an indefinite period at hospitals across the province.

Leaders of the Sindh Doctors’ Welfare Association, Young Doctors’ Association and other bodies were also with the PMA (Sindh) to express their solidarity with the doctors of Balochistan.

“The brutality showed towards the medical fraternity is not acceptable. This type of action taken by the Balochistan government is not a surprise, as the province is ruled by a chief minister who does not know the difference between a legal and an illegal degree,” according a statement read out at the press conference.

The leaders maintained that kidnapping and murder of doctors had become a routine in Balochistan and Sindh.

“While there is no writ of the government in either of the provinces they expect us to serve the people. It is almost impossible particularly when we are not safe while going to and working in hospitals,” said Dr Hashmi.

Prof Dr Umar Farooq, Dr Mahmood A. Khan, Dr Habibur Rehman Soomro, Dr Mujtaba Memon and Dr Tahir Lakho also spoke at the press conference.