Only nine injured still receiving treatment

Others injured during the Faizabad operation on Saturday were discharged after treatment

ISLAMABAD: Almost all those who had been injured during the operation at the Faizabad interchange on Saturday were discharged after treatment on Sunday. Only nine remain admitted to different hospitals.

Over 200 protesters and security officials were injured when officials acted against around 2,500 protesters of the Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) who have been camped at the interchange since November 8. The action had also claimed the lives of at least six protesters.

Five protesters and two policemen are currently admitted to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) in Rawalpindi where a total of 45 people injured in the clashes between protesters and security officials were brought.

Sajjad and Ayub, two police officials who were stranded in former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s house when it came under attack from protesters, were recovered on Sunday morning.

They were taken to hospital on Sunday morning where they were admitted because of critical injuries. One of them had a joint fracture in his ankle while the other had a fractured hand.

Among the five protesters admitted, three were operated upon for bullet injuries to their abdomen and other parts of their body.

Officials believe they were injured during a scuffle between the protesters and security personnel at the former interior minister’s house.

Two more protesters are admitted to the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) where they are receiving treatment for bullet wounds sustained in their abdomens, hospital officials say. As many as 28 injured people were taken to HFH but most were discharged.

Over 230 patients, most of the police and the Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were admitted to the Federal Government Poly Clinic (Polyclinic) and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). All of these had been discharged after they received treatment for minor injuries.

According to a Pims official, as many as 86 police personnel, 76 FC, one Ranger and 55 civilians were taken to the hospital for treatment. Officials said that these people had been injured due to the stones being hurled at them and suffocation from tear gas.

Talking to the media, Pims Emergency Deputy Director Dr Farukh Kamal said the hospital was on alert and that over 100 extra beds had been arranged in the emergency department with the deployment of additional medical and paramedical staff to provide the medical assistance to the injured.

He added that sufficient quantity of medicines had been procured. Similarly, he said ambulances have been arranged to shift the injured from Faizabad to the hospital. Meanwhile, Polyclinic’s Dr Sharif Astori said that at the moment there was no injured at the hospital after the last three patients were discharged on Sunday.

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2017.