Frequent protests will lead to terminations, BHC warns junior doctors
Violators will be held in contempt, chief justice cautions YDA
Photo: File
Reporting by Mujeeb Ullah
The Balochistan High Court or BHC warned junior doctors on Monday for frequent protests despite the court’s prohibition, telling them that doctors should avoid staging rallies.
The court warned that if doctors persisted and took out any more rallies, they would be summarily dismissed.
During the hearing of a constitutional petition on the strike of the Young Doctors Association or YDA, the divisional bench of the BHC comprising Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Abdul Hameed Baloch admonished YDA office-bearers, wondered why they organized a rally on Monday.
“Why do you persist doing such wrong deeds?” the court asked.
In response, a representative of the YDA told the court that they were protesting against the murder of one of their colleagues, asking the authorities concerned to arrest the culprits as soon as possible.
“Was that doctor killed by the government? Let the system work, use all available legal avenues to pursue the same. Police are investigating and it takes time to find out the identity of unknown killers. Nobody has Aladin’s magic lamp, making the accused appear out of thin air,” the court remarked.
The chief justice of BHC said that if any doctor resorted to undue protest or boycotted their duties, his or her services would be terminated.
“Anyone found violating the court order will be held in contempt,” the chief justice said.
The court said: “If YDA asked paramedics to perform a 24-hour duty, they will begin to resent them.
Meanwhile, the provincial health department submitted its proposals for improving working conditions and solving longstanding problems.
The hearing was later adjourned till November 15.
