US willing to help comatose Shahzaib as his family ‘considers their options’

US Department of State says they are working with the Islamabad office and Pakistani mission to facilitate Shahzaib.

WASHINGTON DC: The United States on Thursday said that they were trying to help comatose Pakistani student Shahzaib Bajway in every way possible, but that his family has to consider their options.

In a press briefing on Thursday by the US State Department, deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said that the American “embassy has been in regular contact with his family, including facilitating travel by family members to the US to be with him.”

“And here in Washington we have continued to work with the family, with the hospital, and the Pakistan Embassy to ensure this student receives the best care.”

Commenting on Shahzaib’s future treatment, Harf said that Shahzaib’s family should ‘weigh’ the number of factors involved in doing so.

“We’re working with his family as they decide on treatment options and we’ll help them maintain flexibility in terms of his status,” she said.

During the press briefing, she was asked whether or not the US would help with Shahzaib’s status if the hospital decides that medical care in the US is best for him, given his condition. The spokesperson replied by saying that the matter was complicated. “It’s a complicated question and it’s a hypothetical.”

“We are committed to helping the family maintain flexibility and maintaining his status, yes. And we’ll see as the family makes decisions what might need to be done.”

Muhammad Shahzaib Bajwa, 20, was spending a semester in an exchange programme at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, studying anthropology and sociology.

On November 13, 2013, he and his friends were driving back to the university from Minneapolis when their car struck a deer, his brother Shahraiz Bajwa said.

What was meant to be an academic semester abroad through a State Department-backed exchange programme has turned into a Kafkaesque journey through US insurance, medical and visa regulations for the family from Faisalabad.