Following a 23-day Grand Health Alliance sit-in, Lahore police clear Mall Road.
After 23 days of nonstop protests, police cleared the Grand Health Alliance sit-in location on Mall Road in Lahore with a late-night crackdown.
A large police presence, including female officers, conducted a “cleanup operation,” taking some activists into custody and tearing down tents and other structures they had set up. Now that Mall Road has been completely cleared by authorities, traffic is moving again in both directions.
The Grand Health Alliance was reportedly demonstrating against the planned privatization of public hospitals. Demonstrators gathered in Charing Cross yesterday (Monday) after wrapping off their demonstration at Club Chowk, promising to intensify their campaign if demands were not fulfilled.
The Grand Health Alliance vehemently denounced the police action in response to the arrests, declaring that indoor hospital services would be shut down and that emergency services would also be suspended.
According to a police spokesperson, demonstrators were hitting officers with syringes, scissors, and other medical equipment while using women as shields. According to the spokesperson, some people were attempting to incite violence during the demonstration in order to further their own agendas.
