LHC ordered young doctors to end strike for Sahiwal incident immediately

The Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the Young Doctors Association (YDA) to end the strike for the Sahiwal Teaching Hospital incident immediately. Acting chief justice of LHC, Shujaat Ali Khan gave this verdict while hearing the petition of YDA for an investigation into the Sahiwal incident.

YDA President Dr. Shabbir Niazi filed this petition against the Punjab government and other respondents. He demanded the establishment of a judicial inquiry commission to look into the Sahiwal incident.

Shabbir also asked the court to declare the actions of the Punjab Health Department against victim doctors “illegal” after the Sahiwal incident.

*11 children died at Sahiwal Teaching Hospital*

However, Justice Shujaat expressed displeasure with the doctor’s presence in court during the hearing. He remarked doctors should be available in hospitals, not in the courts.

Meanwhile, Shabbir informed the court that doctors did not want to continue protests on the streets leaving behind hospitals. However, their circumstances were challenging which led them to appear in court.

LHC CJ Shujaat said 120 million people in Punjab province connect with doctors daily for their health problems. Doctors and engineers are assets of this country.

*Young doctors strike against doctors’ arrest in Sahiwal Incident*

According to CJ Shujaat, Akbari rule and monarchy do not exist here. Doctors will have access to all types of security and safety. Hence, LHC CJ ordered all young doctors to end their strike immediately against the government and ensure presence in all hospitals.

The incident dates back to June 14, 2024, when the Punjab Chief Minister visited Sahiwal Teaching Hospital. She reached there in the aftermath of the children’s death in the nursery unit due to a fire outbreak on June 9, 2024.

She came to know that the fire incident happened due to a short circuit while non-functional fire extinguishers led to more deaths of children. Moreover, no SOPs (Standard Operating Procedure) were followed while shifting children to safe wards during fire outbreaks.

*Maryam Nawaz ordered the arrest of Sahiwal Hospital doctors for fire incident*

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Maryam Nawaz ordered the arrest of hospital doctors for this fire incident, relating it to their negligence. However, when police reached the hospital to arrest doctors, a serious clash happened between police and doctors.

This clash resulted in the injuries of dozens of doctors and thirty paramedics and arrested massive paramedical staff. It led to YDA launching widespread protests in Punjab. They claimed the hospital administration was responsible for the fire incident instead of the doctors.

The Government also ordered the Punjab Health Department to cancel post-graduate training of young doctors involved in protests. All these factors led YDA to file a petition in LHC.