KARACHI: The protest by healthcare providers continued for the 28th consecutive day on Saturday as they demanded that the Sindh government restore the risk allowance introduced during the pandemic.

Hundreds of protesters including doctors, paramedics, nurses and other staff members from various government hospitals and several cities protested outside the Karachi Press Club. A day earlier, their attempts to protest out the Sindh Chief Minister House was thwarted by police, who used watercannon and baton-charge to disperse protesters.

During the clash on Friday, several healthcare providers were hurt, with visuals aired on local channels showing horrifying scenes from the protest, including policewomen attacking a woman protester and dragging her after she falls on the ground.

Bushra Arain, one of the protesters, claimed that the policewomen used crude language while dealing with the protesters. “Our people were abused and beaten,” she said.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the ‘use of force against protesting health workers, including women’ while calling for the release of detained workers.

Dozens of protesters were detained by the police, with cases registered against at least 12 of them.

Protesters have warned that they will extend their boycott to the emergency department unless they are released. Health workers are already boycotting the out-patient department (OPD) at public hospitals, which have remained closed across the province.

Hundreds of junior doctors, nurses, paramedics and other healthcare - operating under a coalition called the Grand Health Alliance (GHA) - have been protesting outside the Sindh Assembly for nearly a month. The protesters are not only from Karachi but also Hyderabad and other cities of the province.

Earlier this week, they announced a complete strike of OPD. It resulted in difficult for patients while at least three deaths were reported at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH).

Last month, the provincial health department withdrew the Covid-19 risk allowance. The reason cited was that the pandemic no longer posed a threat to the population.

The allowance was announced over two years ago at the height of the pandemic. Healthcare providers between the grades of one to 16 received Rs17,000, while those above grade 16 were given Rs35,000.

The allowance was discontinued in 2020 as well, but later was resumed following protests.

Meanwhile, the Services Department issued a notification about the formation of a “grievance redressal committee” to deal with the protesters. The committee comprises the provincial ministers for information, local government, labour, and the finance and health secretaries. “The committee will engage with GHA and will give recommendations to the government,” the notification said.