OKARA: Hundreds of patients at the outpatient department (OPD) of DHQ City Hospital were issued tickets on Tuesday, but no medical officer or consultant was present to attend to them.

Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) President Dr Umar Anwar and Secretary Dr Abdul Aziz Khalid met Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Jam Shahzad Haider, who partially agreed to apologise to cardiologist Dr Sajid but refused to reconsider the re-allotment of his residence, according to the PMA president.

Dozens of doctors staged a protest rally on the hospital premises against the MS, who, three days ago, allegedly broke the lock of residence A-08 in the presence of the allottee doctor, with the help of theadministration and police, and later allotted it to orthopaedic surgeon Dr Abdul Qayyum Baig.

PMA President Dr Umar Anwar and Young Doctors Association (YDA) Chairman Dr Faisal Rauf Rao continued their protest for the second day, stating that while they remained on strike, they had not yet called for shutting down the OPD and other hospital departments.

MS Dr Jam said he acknowledged that the presence of Dr Sajid`s spouse during the eviction was inappropriate and agreed to apologise as a goodwill gesture.

However, he said, the rest of the proceedings would follow legal and administrative regulations. He added that YDA President Dr Husnain Moayia had been readjusted to his prior duty schedule, but the doctor was rarely seen at the OPD or otherassigned duties.

As the dispute continued, ailing patients remained the ultimate sufferers.

DRUGS SEIZED: Police seized 38.9 kilograms of narcotics from seven suspects during a special drive against drug dealers across eight police stations, including the CIA staff team.

According to the district police media cell, patrolling teams recovered 38.9kg of hashish during the last 24 hours while checking suspects at various locations.

The arrested drug dealers include Mubashar, Muhammad Yousaf, Maqbool Ahmad, Babar Ali, Qadrat Ali, Sajid Imran and Shabbir, alias Shabri. The CIA staff, acting on a tip-off, raided a location and recovered 12kg of hashish from Azhar.

Separate cases have been registered against the suspects at theirrespective police stations, including the CIA police station, under various sections of the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1998.

SELECTION: The selection of 75 police constables in the district has been completed and the final list has been displayed outside the DPO office and Tayyab Saeed Shaheed Police Lines.

According to a police handout, the selected candidates include 60 male constables, 11 female constables under the 15 per cent of quota and four constables from the minority quota.

The selected candidates will soon receive calls for medical tests and further verification requirements.