Quetta doctors to boycott OPDs, medical services at govt hospitals

• Young Doctors Association announces suspension of operation theatre and other indoor medical services to protest arrest of doctors.
• Police arrested 19 doctors during the protest for provision of facilities in government hospitals.
• Communication minister says "we will respond strictly to the inconvenience [the doctors are causing]".

QUETTA: Young Doctors Association(YDA) have announced to boycott the Out Patient Departments (OPD) and indoor medical services at the government hospitals in Quetta to protest against the arrest of doctors by police, Geo News reported Monday.

During a press conference on Sunday, the YDA said they were staging a peaceful protest in the red zone to demand the supply of amenities in the province's government hospitals when the police detained 19 doctors.

The doctors who were protesting were arrested yesterday in defiance of court orders.

It is pertinent to mention that YDA has boycotted the OPD and medical services in the hospitals for the second time. 

The services were last suspended approximately two months ago.

Meanwhile, Sardar Abdur Rehman Khetran, the provincial minister for communications, called the YDA's decision to boycott medical services "irresponsible."

He said that the government is willing to resolve the issues through negotiations.

"However, if the doctors protest what is beyond our jurisdiction or authority, we will respond strictly to the inconvenience [the doctors are causing]".