Doctors, paramedics and other staff at Turbat Teaching Hospital have launched a protest and boycotted medical services after Pakistani forces allegedly prevented them from entering the hospital and threatened senior doctors during a visit by journalists and YouTubers from Islamabad and other cities.
Local sources said restrictions were imposed on roads leading to the hospital during the visitors’ movement in Turbat, preventing doctors, paramedics and other employees from reporting for duty.
Medical staff said routine services were severely affected after they were denied entry, prompting doctors and paramedics to begin a boycott in protest against the conduct of Frontier Corps personnel.
Hospital sources alleged that FC personnel behaved aggressively towards several senior doctors and, in some cases, pointed weapons at them and issued threats.
Paramedical staff and members of the Paramedical Association subsequently held a protest rally inside the hospital, chanting slogans against the conduct of Pakistani forces.
The protest and boycott disrupted medical services at the hospital, causing difficulties for patients seeking treatment.
The incident took place amid tight restrictions imposed in different parts of Turbat following the arrival of YouTubers and journalists from Islamabad and other areas of Pakistan.
Residents said barriers had been erected on several roads and general traffic stopped during the movement of convoys carrying the visitors. One of the main roads leading to Turbat Teaching Hospital was also completely closed.
Patients, attendants and other residents attempting to reach the hospital faced difficulties, while no clear information was provided about alternative routes to the facility and other important public locations, according to local sources.
Residents called on the administration to ensure uninterrupted access for ambulances, patients and emergency services, even where security measures were considered necessary.
Reacting to the incident, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Dr Sabiha Baloch accused the state of bringing YouTubers, content creators and TikTokers to Turbat to promote what she described as a manufactured narrative while restricting the movement of residents and medical staff.
“This is state-sponsored propaganda designed to manufacture a false image, control the narrative and conceal the reality on the ground,” she said in a post on X.
Dr Sabiha said the alleged harassment extended beyond doctors and paramedics, with ordinary people also denied access to parts of the city and subjected to restrictions on their movement.
“The state cannot manufacture reality through YouTubers, TikTokers and content creators while silencing doctors, medical workers and the public on the ground,” she said.