NLE: YDA ends protest outside PMC building, to hold demonstrations at hospitals

ISLAMABAD: The Young Doctors Association (YDA) on Tuesday called of its protest outside the Pakistan Medical Association (PMC) building against the National Licensing Exam (NLE) after holding talks with Islamabad deputy commissioner.

“From tomorrow, everyone will protest in their respective hospitals,” the YDA president said after 20 of their colleagues were arrested by the police earlier in the day following clashes. The authorities said that the protesters were damaging state property and that they were compelled to use force.

According to police, the young doctors pelted stones on them and the PMC building, forcing them to baton charge the demonstrators, besides firing tear gas shells, and eventually arresting some people.

A 5-member delegation of the YDA later held a meeting with the deputy commissioner of Islamabad, where the government official told them that they would have to clear the roads once the police let go of the detained medics.

The YDA had earlier demanded the release of their detained colleagues, saying that if the administration does not let them go, then the organisation would hold protests across the country.

The YDA claimed that the protests were peaceful. The police refuted their stance, saying that while peaceful protests are allowed under the Constitution, they had resort to force in this case in order to save government property.