Pakistan: Doctors’ protest against acid attack on woman medic in Balochistan continues for 19th day

Quetta, June 26 (IANS) The protest of Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) of Balochistan against the acid attack on a woman doctor Mah Noor Nasir at a hospital in Pakistan’s Quetta, continued for the 19th day on Friday, local media reported.

During a recent central meeting, the association decided to escalate the protest and said that the closure of Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) in government hospitals would continue until the authorities do not agree to their demands, Pakistan-based daily The Express Tribune reported.

The YDA has accused the government of negligence and insensitivity and demanded the immediate removal of the Secretary of Health Balochistan and the Medical Superintendent of Civil Hospital, establishing of a judicial commission to investigate the acid attack on Dr Mah Noor, and the immediate implementation of the Doctors’ Security Act.

The YDA stated that the protest camp at Civil Hospital in Quetta remains in place. The doctors have announced that a Grand Doctors’ Conference is scheduled to be held on June 29 and a protest rally from Civil Hospital on June 30. Protests will be held in government hospitals of Balochistan on the same day, The Express Tribune reported.

Leaders of the association have pledged to continue the protest until the authorities do not take effective measures for doctors’ security, hold perpetrators behind the attack accountable and introduce meaningful reforms in the health department. They urged doctors, medical organisations, and civil society in Balochistan to participate in the conference and the protest rally to express solidarity with Dr Mah Noor.

Last week, a women’s rights movement, ‘Aurat March’ staged a protest outside the Islamabad Press Club against the acid attack on a female doctor at the Sandeman Civil Hospital in Quetta.

Human rights activists, political leaders, and representatives of various social organisations joined the demonstration, expressing solidarity with the victim, doctor Mah Noor Nasir, while strongly condemning the rising violence against women in the country.

During the demonstration, prominent human rights activist and Aurat March leader, Farzana Bari, voiced grave concern over the prevailing situation in the country.

“Too many incidents of violence against women are surfacing each day, showing us that this country is becoming like a graveyard for women, and the state and state institutions are completely failing to provide protection to us,” Pakistan’s digital media platform Voicepk.net quoted Bari as saying.

“We demand complete and proper medical treatment for Mahnoor. The police have killed the perpetrator, but I consider this to be unnecessary, as the police’s job is to arrest criminals while it is the job of the courts to sentence them. The patriarchal mindset has become so dangerous in Pakistan today that women are not safe in their homes, on the streets, or in their workplaces,” she added.

–IANS

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