Survivors recall ordeal of firing incident

Raheela Zohair survived a bullet that pierced through the right side of her body.

KARACHI:

Raheela Zohair, an employee at the marketing department of the Express Media Group, is grateful to God for surviving an armed attack at her office on Korangi Road on Friday.

“Thanks to Allah, I remained safe in the attack,” said wounded Zohair from her hospital bed at the special ward of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre while talking to The Express Tribune.

Zohair had come to the office as per routine. “As the driver stopped the car, suddenly, intense firing began. I could not see who was firing and where they were firing from. When I came to terms with what was happening, a bullet hit me as I was trying to cross the road from the backside of the car.”

The good thing is that the doctors at the JPMC have stated that she is out of danger. “The bullet pierced through the right side of her body,” said the doctors. “She is fine now as she has been given medical treatment.” Zohair was later moved to the Ziauddin Hospital in Clifton. “Doctors have advised to keep her under observation for at least 24 hours,” the victim’s brother-in-law told The Express Tribune. “The reason behind shifting her to Ziauddin Hospital is better medical treatment and proximity to her house.”

Another victim was a private security guard, Mir Ali, who was deputed at the main reception of the office. He suffered a bullet wound to his backbone during the indiscriminate fire by armed motorcyclists.  Both the victims were rushed to the National Medical Centre initially.

“We shifted the injured persons to the JPMC after doctors at the NMC advised us,” general manager of security at the Express Media group, Major (retd) Zafar Iqbal, told The Express Tribune. “Thankfully, they are both in a stable condition now.”

After a two-and-a-half hour long operation at the JPMC, Ali is conscious but cannot speak much. “The intense firing did not give us time to retaliate,” said the injured guard. “I was hit by the bullet when I was trying to get out of the reception cabin.”

After operating on him, the doctors have kept him under observation at a ward. “One successful surgery has been done,” said JPMC joint executive-director Dr Seemin Jamali. “He suffered injuries to his spinal cord and abdomen. The surgeons have done their level best but, right now, nothing could be said until he is completely stable.” Dr Jamali further said that the bullet was still present in the victim’s body and would be removed in the second phase.

The relatives of Ali were also present at the hospital. “We can only pray for him,” said his relative, Dost Ali. “We are scared as Ali could be paralysed.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2013.