130 students admitted at Parachinar hospital after consuming poisonous food

Facility faces shortage of beds, MNA terms incident ‘an act of militancy’

HANGU: At least 130 students were admitted to the hospital in Parachinar after consuming poisonous food.

There is a state of emergency at District Headquarters Hospital Parachinar, agency surgeon Dr Moeen Begum and Dr Zahid Hussain told the media outside the hospital on Thursday.



“We cannot accommodate large numbers of patients and their parents, and are now facing shortage of beds,” Hussain said.

He added there were only 60 beds at the facility currently. Around 13 children were also brought to the facility from a private hospital on Wednesday night.

“Most of the children were boiling with fever and were constantly vomiting,” Moeen Begum said.

The political administration has ordered the agency surgeon and other health staff to provide the best health facilities to patients. It has also ordered an enquiry into the case to arrest the culprits responsible for the state of affairs.



MNA from the area Sajid Turi has termed the incident “an act of militancy”. He said given that such a large number of students have been given poisonous food and have fallen so sick in the two days calls for immediate action. Turi asked the political administration to investigate the matter thoroughly.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2016.