Lahore (Web Desk): Lawyers and doctors have announced to observe strike in several cities of the Punjab province today (Thursday) after clash at Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC).
According to details, Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), the lawyers in Lahore will observe a strike today against what they say is torture and arrest at the hand of police near PIC. Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) and lawyers from Balochistan also announced to join the strike.
Meanwhile, doctors are observing strike in the major cities across the country.
On Wednesday, the angry lawyers stormed PIC including emergency ward where at least four people lost their lives after doctors and nurses left the hospital amid the dispute and halted treatment of patients.
Videos of the incident shared on Twitter showed police officials, clad in riot gear, were rendered helpless as a swarm of lawyers, outnumbering the law enforcement personnel, broke the entrance of the hospital.
They disrupted operations and heart surgeries at the emergency bloc of PIC, leaving hundreds of patients at risk. The doctors left the wards to save their lives from the protesting lawyers.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse lawyers which were around 200 to 250 in numbers, with some of them having weapons.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Usman Buzdar took notice of the lawyers’ protest at the hospital and sought reports from the Punjab Chief Secretary and Punjab Inspector General of Police.
Following the incident, two FIRs were registered against more than 250 lawyers who attacked PIC allegedly tortured doctors and attendants, and damaged hospital property and police vehicles.
The dispute between lawyers and doctors escalated after a video of alleged torture on a lawyer by doctors went viral sparked dispute after which lawyers went out of control.