Burial rites: Bashir Qureshi’s post-mortem samples sent to Karachi for Ptesting

The soyem was held in Ratodero and was attended by many supporters and activists.

SUKKUR: When the doctors at Sakrand hospital announced that Bashir Qureshi had died of heart failure, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz’s (JSQM) acting chairperson and vice-chairperson Dr Niaz Kalani and Qureshi’s brother Maqsood insisted that he was poisoned. 

The speculations and accusations continued, as doctors at Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) in Larkana carried out a post-mortem and said that the cause of death could only be determined after a chemical examination of the internal organs.

On Monday, Maqsood went to CMCH to meet the medical superintendent and asked him to hand over viscera samples so he could have them examined at a private laboratory. According to sources, the Sindh government ordered the hospital official to go to Karachi and not hand them over to anyone as that could compromise the investigation that was an official matter.

While talking to The Express Tribune over the telephone, Kalani maintained that Qureshi’s death was not natural. “We hold the Punjab and establishment responsible for Qureshi’s death,” he alleged. “They used a scientific method to kill him.” He added that they would decide what was going to happen to the party after the soyem.

In response to a question about the post-mortem, Kalani alleged that the government was trying to conceal a “crime”. “The doctors told us that the body was taken to Rohri for an examination but then they changed their statements and said that the samples had not been sent as yet,” he said. “We asked them to hand over some sample to us so we could have it examined at a private laboratory but they refused.”

According to the police surgeon, Dr Safiullah Abbasi, who conducted the post-mortem with four other doctors, said that they had failed to determine the cause of death. He added that they had to take samples from six different parts of the body for a chemical examination. “Normally, these samples are handed over to the police for testing,” he said. “However, since Bashir Qureshi is a high-profile case we are going to Karachi with the police.”

While talking to The Express Tribune about handing over samples to Qureshi’s brother, Dr Abbasi said that Maqsood’s request was forwarded and the Sindh health secretary had asked him to take Qureshi’s samples to the government’s chemical laboratory on MA Jinnah Road, Karachi. He added that keeping Maqsood’s request in mind, they would also have the organs examined at Aga Khan University Hospital.

Police Surgeon Dr Abbasi, Assistant Police Surgeon Dr Abdul Qayum Rajpar, Rehmatpur ASI Bahadur Larak and JSQM student federation Larkana vice president Imdad Abbasi are bringing the samples together.

In mourning

Qureshi’s soyem was held in Ratodero and was attended by thousands of party supporters, activists, and other nationalists. Most of upper Sindh was shut. However, the Secondary School Certificate examinations went ahead as scheduled.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2012.