Lahore [Pakistan], April 20 (ANI): Tensions flared on Mall Road as police used water cannons to disperse protesting young doctors against outsourcing of hospitals, leaving two demonstrators--including Dr Shoaib Niazi, President of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) Punjab--unconscious during the chaos, as reported by the Dawn.

The confrontation erupted when hospital employees, led by Dr Niazi, attempted to march from Charing Cross to the Chief Minister's Secretariat. This move was part of a plan announced earlier by the YDA to escalate protests against the proposed outsourcing of public hospitals, as cited by the Dawn.

Following Friday prayers, a large gathering of young doctors, nurses, and paramedics began their march, despite heavy police presence and suggestions to continue protesting at Charing Cross. The YDA leadership rejected the police proposal, pressing forward with their planned route.

According to Dawn, eyewitnesses reported that the police clashed with the demonstrators as they advanced, allegedly beating several protesters, including Dr Niazi, before resorting to water cannons to break up the crowd. Footage circulating on social media showed Dr Niazi collapsed on the road, while police officials dismissed the incident as 'theatrics,' claiming the water used was low pressure and meant only to disperse the crowd.

Protesters accused the police of using tainted water, which they claim caused two participants to faint--an allegation police firmly denied, suggesting instead that the demonstrators were attempting to manipulate public sympathy, the Dawn reported.

Speaking to reporters, Dr Niazi vowed to escalate the protest further by initiating strikes in hospital Outpatient Departments (OPDs). Meanwhile, police criticised the YDA for allegedly using female staff as human shields in defiance of an earlier agreement to confine the protest to Charing Cross, the Dawn cited.

Despite the crackdown, some women demonstrators reportedly managed to bypass security and stage a sit-in at Club Chowk, while others gathered outside the Alhamra building.

In a related move, paramedics at Lahore General Hospital (LGH) shut down OPDs and some wards in protest over the suspension of two employees who had shown solidarity with the anti-outsourcing movement. Reports indicate that staff locked OPD doctor rooms and forced patients out of the facility, further intensifying the ongoing standoff. (ANI)