‘Tortured’ cadet still awaits fund transfer for treatment

Govt official says release might take two more weeks

KARACHI: The teenage student, who was allegedly tortured by staff at the Cadet College Larkana still waits for the Sindh government to clear funds for his treatment.

Though the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was quick to announce funds for Muhammad Ahmed Hussain after the case surfaced in November last year, money has not yet been released by the provincial government.

The 13-and-a-half-year-old has been bed-ridden since August 10 and is waiting to leave for the US for his surgery.



The bureaucratic delays are the biggest obstacle for him for not being able to reach Cincinnati Children Hospital where his larynx windpipe will be resurrected.



The funds required for the surgery and post-operative care were estimated to be around Rs50 million. The amount was approved in November by the Sindh chief minister, when the medical board, which examined the student, suggested that Hussain was tortured and should be sent abroad for medical treatment.

Later on, the family applied for US visa on their own expense, which the US Consulate issued to Hussain and his father Abdul Rashid Mashori on December 21. Since then, the family has been waiting for the Sindh and federal government to complete the formalities in transferring the money required for the surgery.

Mashori requested officials concerned to not delay the transfer so that his son’s surgery is carried out as soon as possible.

“I don’t want a single penny from the government. All I want is the treatment of my son,” Mashori said.



“I have borne all expenses of my son’s treatment up till now. However, they [philanthropists] have stopped giving me money since the government announced the fund for Ahmed’s treatment two months ago,” Mashori told The Express Tribune.

According to the health department official Sikandar Memon, the delay in sending Ahmed to the US is caused by the process of getting permission from the federal government to send remittances of more than $10,000 abroad.



He stated that the process needs coordination between the bank, health department, finance ministry and federal government.

“First we send $27,7848 for the surgery and eight-day stay in the hospital. Then a sum of $120,120 is required for the nursing care for three months, which is currently in process and might take two more weeks,” Memon added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2017.