Protesting health workers on Friday faced police baton charge and use of water cannons as they tried to march towards the Sindh Chief Minister’s House to force the government to accept their demands, especially restoration of the Covid-19 risk allowance.
The anti-riot police resorted to baton charge and used water cannons to disperse the protesting healthcare workers and detained many of them. However, all the detained persons were later released.
Hundreds of healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, have been boycotting their duties at public health facilities for last several days for resumption of the health risk allowance that was stopped by the Sindh health department, which is of the view that the Covid-19 is almost over.
The strike of healthcare workers has been causing immense hardships to patients. The protesters tried to march on the CM House despite the formation of a committee comprising three provincial ministers — Information Minister Sharjeel Memon, Labour Minister Saeed Ghani and Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah — and the health and finance secretaries for holding talks with them.
The notification for the committee was issued on Friday but the protesting workers rejected it, demanding that the Sindh health minister come to meet them and assure them of accepting their demands.
According to notification issued by provincial government, the committee had been tasked with engaging with the protesting health care workers under the Grand Health Alliance and submitting recommendations to resolve the issue.
Sharjeel Memon said the CM had taken notice of the arrests of protesting health workers. He said that under a decision, the workers, including women, were being released, but protesters who resorted to violence and forcible closure of hospitals would not be freed.
He said the arrests of health workers was regrettable, but the protesters tried to enter the red zone. He said a committee had been formed for talks with the protesters, but they announced they would continue their protest.
Talking to the media, senior police official Syed Asad Raza said the protesting healthcare workers had blocked the main road, causing traffic congestion on adjoining roads. “In order to clear the roads and help the stranded people on the roads, the anti-riot force was called, which used water cannons to disperse them and detained 25 protesters, including 10 women.”
Police later released the female nurses and healthcare workers who along with their colleagues tried to reach the main gate of the Sindh Secretariat to resume their sit-in.
Aijaz Kaleri, a leader of protesting nurses, stated that the Sindh police resorted to severe baton charge on the healthcare workers, who included women as well. He added that as a result of the police action, some of the protesters were seriously injured. Kaleri claimed that the police had held talks with them and made a ‘promise’ to them that they would be allowed to resume their protest outside the main gate of the Sindh Secretariat, where they have been holding a sit-in for last several days, if they cleared the roads.
Later, around 200 protesters gathered at the Karachi Press Club where they chanted slogans against the government and law enforcers, and demanded the release of the detained protesters along with resumption of the health risk allowance.
They said that if their detained leaders Dr Mehboob Noonari and others were not released immediately, they would be compelled to expand the scope of the protest. They warned that they would close all the hospitals across the province if the detained doctors and paramedics were not released.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) condemned the baton charge and arrests of the protesting doctors and paramedics in Karachi. PIMA President Prof Abdullah Muttaqi in a statement said that young doctors were protesting for the restoration of health risk allowance but instead of resolving the issue, the government resorted to force. He demanded that the government resolve the issue through dialogue instead of force, as poor patients were bearing the brunt of the situation due to OPDs being closed and routine operations in government hospitals being shut down as a result of the protests.