Usman Buzdar orders strict action against oppressors

LAHORE: Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Law on Order at Chief Minister’s Office here on Wednesday.

Usman Buzdar was presented initial report of the violence and destruction caused by lawyers at Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC). The additional chief secretary home submitted the report on the incident.

Usman Buzdar said that the writ of the government would be maintained at every cost. The rumpus and destruction caused by lawyers at PIC is an illogical and illegal act, he said. Legal action will be taken against those lawyers who took law into their own hands, he asserted. Such immoral and indecent behaviour being done with doctors, paramedical staff, patients and their attendants is highly intolerable under all circumstances, he stated.

The government is standing with those who have been subjected to violence, said the CM. He said he was deeply grieved over the death of a few patients caused due to unavailability of treatment facilities. The sympathies of the Punjab government are with the heirs to the deceased patients. The torture of Provincial Information Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan is also highly lamentable.

“Our all out sympathies are with the violent-stricken persons. Justice will not only be done but will also be seen being done in the sorrowful incident,” the CM said. The oppressors will definitely be punished according to the law, he said.

The CM directed the officers concerned that those found responsible for creating unrest and violence in the hospital be identified with the help of CCTV cameras and cases be registered according to law against them.

Usman Buzdar also directed immediate restoration of healthcare facilities to the patients in the hospital and also directed to repair all the damages done to the hospital without any delay.

“It is our first and foremost priority to provide medical facilities to the patients. There should be no obstruction and disturbance in provision of treatment facilities in hospitals,” he said. The Punjab government would assess the damage done to the vehicles of doctors and will pay compensation money to the doctors, he stated.

The Cabinet Committee on Law and Order should hold its meetings on a daily basis and maintain a stern watch on the prevailing conditions, the CM directed. Usman Buzdar was also apprised that 34 lawyers had been arrested who were found involved in committing the tragic incident. Rangers has also been called out, the CM was informed.

Provincial ministers Raja Basharat, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Hashim Dogar, Ansar Majeed Khan, Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, Taimoor Bhatti, chief secretary, advocate general Punjab, inspector general of police, additional chief secretary home, Lahore commissioner, officials of law enforcement agencies and other senior officers also participated in the meeting.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar also sought a report from the Lahore CCPO and provincial secretary for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department.

The CM also ordered probe into the incident of violence and directed that action be initiated against those found responsible for creating unrest and violence. He said no one was above the law.

Such a sorrowful incident in a cardiac hospital is highly intolerable, he lamented. Creating obstructions and hurdles in the treatment of patients is an inhuman and criminal act, the CM said.

He also constituted an investigation committee headed by Provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat. Provincial Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, inspector general of police, additional chief secretary Home and Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education secretary the the committee members.

The committee will conduct inquiry into the violence committed by lawyers and later submit a report to the chief minister. It will ascertain those lawyers who committed violence. An indiscriminate action will be taken against those who also committed violence in the hospital.