Jinnah Hospital: Gunmen storm emergency ward to finish off rival

All CCTV cameras out of order; YDA threatens protests over lack of security.

LAHORE:

Several gunmen stormed the emergency department at Jinnah Hospital on Friday morning in order to kill a man who was being treated there for gunshot wounds.

Earlier in the day, two groups had a shootout near Thokar Niaz Beg, also trading fire with policemen. An unidentified man and a constable were brought to Jinnah Hospital with bullet wounds.

At around 10.30am, some gunmen entered the emergency ward and started firing in the air, said a doctor on duty at the time. “The windows were shattered and several people were injured. Patients, doctors and paramedics lay down on the floor. There were policemen standing outside the emergency department, but they didn’t do anything,” he said.

Professor Mahmood Shaukat, the chief executive of Jinnah Hospital, said that the gunmen appeared to have come to finish off the man brought in with bullet wounds. “They found him in emergency, shot him and fled,” he said. “There were some policemen outside, but they couldn’t stop them as they were not armed.” The police guards do no carry guns.

He admitted that all the CCTV cameras at the hospital were out of order. Representatives of the Young Doctors Association Punjab at Jinnah Hospital said that both the hospital administration and the provincial government had been negligent.

“This is the height of negligence on the part of the hospital administration,” said YDA Punjab President Dr Javaid Aheer. “Nobody working at the hospital is safe. Anyone with a gun can enter and kill anybody he likes. The Punjab government had pledged in the service structure agreement to provide hospitals with security, but nothing has been done to make hospitals safe. If security isn’t provided, no doctor will come to work,” he said. “There is a retired colonel who is paid a hefty salary to manage security at the hospital. Why couldn’t he even get the CCTV cameras fixed?” said one YDA official.



Professor Mahmood Shaukat said that he had met with the DIG and SP (Security) after the incident to discuss how to improve security arrangements. He said that they would replace the security cameras. He said additional constables had been posted at the emergency department.

Three years ago

This was not the first time that gunmen have stormed Jinnah Hospital. On May 28, 2010, terrorists attacked Ahmadi places of worship in Model Town and Garhi Shahu during Friday prayers, killing 86 and wounding 124.

At least 10 of the injured from the Model Town attack were recovering in Jinnah Hospital, along with one of the attackers. On May 31, five men in police uniforms entered the hospital, planning to kill or free the captured terrorist, the police said.

The gunmen were en route to the intensive care unit of the hospital but were intercepted by the police. A shootout ensued in which three police officials and two bystanders were killed. The gunmen then fled the scene.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2013.