RAWALPINDI - Young Doctors Association (YDA) Rawalpindi on Thursday observed a complete strike in the Allied Hospitals (AHs) and staged a protest demonstration in Holy Family Hospital (HFH) to press the Punjab government to accept their longstanding demands. However, the doctors and paramedical staff remained on duty in the AHs Intensive Caring Units (ICUs) and Coronary Care Units (CCUs) and provided medical treatment to the patients. A good number of doctors including Postgraduate Trainees, Medial Officers, House Job Officers (both male and female), held out banners and placards inscribed with slogans Ensure the safety of doctors and paramedical staff in duty hours, Stop implicating the doctors in murder cases, Announce duty time frame for the doctors took a round of HFH and registered their protest by standing outside of every department of the hospital. They also chanted slogans against their professors, high-ups of health department and Punjab government. While addressing the protestors outside Rawalpindi Medical College (RMC) Teaching Building in HFH, YDA City President Dr Haroon said that the young doctors were facing hardships while performing their duties in the government-run hospitals, as they had not been provided with security by the government. He said that murder cases were being registered against the doctors, which was an injustice and YDA strongly condemned this practice. He said that doctors had to work for 70 hours continuously but were not given salaries. He said that no doctor would perform his/her duty more then 48 hours in a week. He said that if any doctor showed negligence while giving medical treatment to any patients then a neutral inquiry should be conducted against him/her through eligible persons. No doctor can be fired from his/her service even by Chief Minister or Prime Minister without holding proper inquiry he added. Dr Madeeha, while speaking on the occasion, said that political influence from the government-run hospitals should come to an end. She regretted that willful political workers and leaders thrashed doctors and paramedical staff. Dr Shafique of Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) said that professors were usurping the rights of young doctors. He termed all the professors as Pharaohs and urged the doctors to stand up against their wrong policies. Dr Bilal said that a doctor earned equal to a labor and his/her (doctor) salary should be increased. The YDA office-bearers and members demanded of the Punjab government to provide security to medical staffers and doctors, stop implicating doctors in murder cases, hold proper and partial inquiry against any doctor in case of negligence, pay all the paramedical staffs, PGTs, MCPSs, MOs, HOs, increase their salaries and give them overtime. The doctors chanted slogans before calling off their strike after the assurance of RMC Principal and Head of AHs Dr Musaddiq Khan that their problems would be solved. Dr Musaddiq asked the YDA office-bearers to give him their demands in written and he would send the demands to Punjab government.