The Young Doctors and Paramedical Staff Association said in a press conference in Quetta that the doctors will not serve any patients in the government hospitals in the presence of the Pakistani security forces. The doctors said that the forces have arrested our peacefully protesting colleagues and shoved them in prison indefinitely.
The doctors association said that the Young Doctors and Paramedical Staff Association held protests against the lack of facilities in the government hospitals in Quetta. The government negotiated with the protestors and agreed to fulfil their demands, but then reneged on its promises. Frustrated and betrayed, the doctors association once again carried out a rally in Quetta and the police violently dispersed the rally and arrested several doctors. The government once again promised that it will release a notification within the next few days, but 45 days later, there is no notification.
The speakers further said that the doctors once aagain carried out a demonstration that was violently dispersed by the police and 15 working doctors were apprehended. The police then raided the Quetta Civil Hospital and arrested over 40 doctors and paramedic staff.
The doctors association said that the incumbent secretary of health is responsible for the abysmal state of healthcare in Balochistan. They said that the health secretary’s cronyism is creating division in the health department of Balochistan. Thanks to him, the health department has become rife with corruption. The government must immediately remove and replace the incumbent secretary of health, the doctors said.
The doctors also said that we will not provide our services to patients in the Quetta Civil Hospital as long as the security forces are there. The doctors association also said that we will not sit down for negotiations as long as the health secretary is in the gathering.