The Bangladesh Medical Association's (BMA) Khulna unit has decided to suspend its ongoing work abstention for one week.
BMA Khulna President Dr Sheikh Baharul Alam made the announcement at noon on Saturday.
The association will make a formal announcement in this regard after a general meeting in the evening.
Doctors in Khulna had been holding a strike since Wednesday protesting an alleged attack on their colleague Dr Sheikh Nishat Abdullah, head of the Burn and Plastic Surgery Department at Shaheed Sheikh Abu Naser Specialized Hospital.
According to BMA sources, Awami League Central Organizing Secretary SM Kamal Hossain and Metropolitan Awami League President and Khulna City Corporation Mayor Talukdar Abdul Khaleque sat with the BMA leaders at Khulna BMA building in the morning to discuss the situation.
After the meeting, the BMA leaders decided to suspend the strike, said the BMA president.
Dr Bahar said that since the general meeting has been called in this regard, the matter will be finalized at the general meeting.
“And if the demand is not implemented within a week, then strict action will be taken,” said the BMA president.
The Khulna mayor said: “We are cordial to the demands of doctors. They have been requested to suspend the program for seven days and resume their service immediately.”
SM Kamal Hossain said that they have heard everything in the meeting. “We agree with the claims of the doctors. Again, we have to consider the patients' sufferings also. So they have been requested to suspend the program for seven days and return to work.”
Earlier in the morning, the physicians said they will continue their work abstention until the arrest of the accused policeman for his involvement in assaulting their colleague Dr Sheikh Nishat Abdullah.
Dr Nishat was allegedly assaulted by Assistant Sub-Inspector Naim, the husband of a female patient, who had been allegedly sexually assaulted by the physician.
Their work abstention caused immense suffering to hospitalized patients and others who sought medical treatment.
Medicare services came to a halt at all government and private hospitals, except for emergency care, in the district due to the strike.
On Friday evening, a seven-member DGHS team from Dhaka, led by Additional Director General Ahmedul Kabir, met with BMA Khulna leaders and urged them to withdraw the strike to ease public suffering.
On February 25, Dr Sheikh Nishat was physically assaulted allegedly by a patient's relatives including ASI Naim, at a nursing home in Sheikhpara of Khulna city during surgery.
On the other hand, Nusrat Ara Moyna, wife of the cop, held a press conference on Thursday at Khulna Press Club seeking the intervention of the prime minister to resolve the problem and claimed that no incident of attack on the physician and vandalism happened on that night.
“I have video footage of that night which shows no evidence of assault and vandalism,” she claimed.
Moyna also demanded justice for her harassment and the implication of Naim in a false case.
