QUETTA: Pakistani doctors went on strike at two hospitals in southwestern Quetta on Tuesday, a day after police used force to break up and detain medics protesting against a lack of gear to protect them against the coronavirus.
Hundreds of doctors and paramedics protested on Monday against what they said was failure by the government to deliver promised supplies. At least 30 doctors were detained by riot police for defying a ban on public gatherings during a lockdown introduced to fight the spread of the virus.
“We are on strike for the protection of our doctors and paramedics,” one of the detained doctors, Hanif Luni, a leader of the association that arranged the protest, told Reuters on the phone from his police holding cell.
He said that doctors stayed on duty in the cardiac and gynaecology departments for emergencies, adding that the strike had spread to other parts of the province of Balochistan, of which Quetta is the capital.
Pakistan has reported close to 4,000 coronavirus cases, including 54 deaths, of which over 200 cases are in under-developed Balochistan.
An official with Balochistan’s health department, Dr. Wasim Baig, said 14 doctors and 10 other medical workers had been infected by the virus in the province.
The provincial government says doctors working with coronavirus patients had been provided with protective gear and that the protesting doctors were not dealing with infected patients.
The spokesman for Pakistan’s disaster management authority, which is steering the country-wide effort to combat the virus, said Balochistan was given more safety kits than it needed for its frontline medical staff, including masks, coveralls, gloves and goggles.
“Our first priority is to cater to frontline doctors and staff,” spokesman Saqib Mumtaz told Reuters, adding that those not on coronavirus duty had also been given what they needed and would get more.
“We’re not short of gear,” he said.
Doctors strike in southwest Pakistan in row over coronavirus protection
https://arab.news/v4a8z
Doctors strike in southwest Pakistan in row over coronavirus protection
- At least 30 doctors were detained by riot police for defying a ban on public gatherings
- Pakistan has reported close to 4,000 coronavirus cases
Traders say Karachi plaza fire caused $54 million losses as death toll climbs to 71
- Rescuers work through unstable debris as identification continues, compensation announced
- Rising death toll underscores scale of the disaster and the challenges now facing forensic teams
ISLAMABAD: A deadly fire at a major shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi has killed at least 71 people and caused estimated losses of up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million), traders and officials said on Friday, as recovery teams continue searching unstable debris and families await identification of victims.
The fire broke out on Jan. 17 at Gul Plaza, a densely packed commercial complex in the heart of Karachi that housed more than 1,200 shops. The blaze burned for over 24 hours before being brought under control, trapping workers and shoppers inside and leaving large sections of the building structurally unsafe.
Deadly fires are a recurring problem in Karachi, a city of more than 20 million people, where overcrowded markets, aging infrastructure, illegal construction and weak enforcement of safety regulations frequently contribute to disasters. Officials say a blaze of this scale is rare.
“We have processed 71 sets of remains, of which 20 have been identified,” chief police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said on Friday, underscoring the scale of the disaster and the challenges facing forensic teams.
Identification has been significantly slowed by the condition of the remains recovered from the site, Syed said, noting that many bodies were found in fragments, complicating DNA analysis and prolonging the process for families waiting for confirmation.
Tanveer Pasta, president of the Gul Plaza Market Association, said all shops in the plaza were destroyed, estimating total losses at up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million).
“There were big importers sitting here,” he told Arab News on Thursday. “Just three days before this fire, 31 [shipping] containers were unloaded.”
Relatives of dozens of missing persons have remained near the destroyed plaza and at hospitals even after submitting DNA samples, with some families expressing frustration over the pace of recovery and identification.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said the city administration remained focused on rescue operations and on returning victims’ remains to their families as quickly as possible. His remarks came after he visited the homes of several victims, according to a statement from his office.
“Rescue personnel of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation are still engaged in the rescue operation, while the administration is making every effort to hand over [remains] of the victims, loved ones to their families at the earliest,” Wahab was quoted as saying.
Earlier this week, the Sindh provincial government announced compensation of Rs10 million ($35,720) for the family of each person killed in the blaze and said affected shopkeepers would also receive financial assistance.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire. Police have said preliminary indications point to a possible electrical short circuit, though officials stress conclusions will only be drawn after investigations are completed.
