CM steps in at long last

LAHORE, March 29: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday asked his team of politicians and health department officials to immediately negotiate with protesting young doctors, making them realise their basic duty of serving the ill without causing problems for anyone and demand which the cash-strapped government could do for them at the moment. He gave the advice after ordering release of the young doctors arrested during a protest in front of the Punjab Assembly earlier in the day. Official sources said that after the incident, principals of medical colleges, medical superintendents of hospitals, health department officials and politicians like Zulfikar Khosa met the chief minister and informed him of the demands of the doctors and what the government had done so far for them. The officials and the politicians said the government had been showing leniency to young doctors but they were continuing with their protest at the cost of patients and also creating problems for their colleagues who did not want any protest. The chief minister reportedly rejected the idea of taking action against the young doctors and instead asked his team to once again meet them on Wednesday (today). Convince them that their basic duty was to serve the ill and not to create problems for them or for the state. Also, convey them the financial limitations of the government because of which it was not possible for it to immediately increase their salaries, the chief minister was quoted as having told his team. Earlier, he was informed that negotiations had earlier been held with the doctors many times. They were demanding an increase in the salaries. The 'favour' required Rs27 billion which the cash-strapped government could not afford at the moment. The doctors had already been told that the government would certainly increase their salaries after checking what the federal government was going to give it for the next year's budget.