Protesting doctors in Pakistan arrested

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LAHORE, Pakistan, July 2 (UPI) -- Pakistani doctors entered the 14th day of strikes Monday as two face murder charges for a patient who died due to lack of medical care, police said.

Officers at the Gawalmandi police station charged the two doctors when a critically ill baby was left without treatment and died, Geo News reported.

Police arrested and jailed 33 other doctors late Sunday for violating maintenance of public order, Lahore police official Noore-ul-Amin Mengal told Geo News.

At least seven people have died since the start of the strikes because of a lack of medical attention, the news service said.

Pakistani Army doctors began treating patients at hospitals throughout the Punjabi region Monday, filling a hole left by the protesting members of the Young Doctors Association.

The association has taken to the streets to demand a service structure and proper facilities at public hospitals.

"If we go by the book, not even a single operation can be performed at public hospitals," said Dr. Ashraf Nizami, the Punjab president of the Pakistan Medical Association.

He said the PMA agrees with the YDA's demands, but does not condone the ongoing strikes, The Express Tribune reported.