KOHAT: Senior doctors here are not satisfied with security arrangements at the KDA Teaching Hospital and Women and Children Hospital, saying that they have been feeling insecure because of the non-cooperation of police.

Sources said that the hospitals’ own security staff had also not been provided with weapons which had to be bought by their respective administrations while their permits and licences were to be issued by the district police officer.

Dr Zainul Abideen, deputy superintendent of the KDA hospital, said that they had requisitioned security from the health department, including hiring of private company, but the matter had been pending with the finance department since last year.

Answering a question, he said that they had no funds to buy Kalashnikovs for security in the hospitals. He said that they were allowed five police guards, including one havaldar, at the KDA hospital, but in fact only one policeman had been performing duty at a time.

Claim police not cooperating with them

Same is the case with the women and children hospital (WCH). Doctors said that they had no authority to ask the policemen about their duty.

A senior doctor at WCH requesting anonymity said that the only policeman deputed at the main entrance of the hospital went to sleep after 12:00 midnight.

Another doctor sitting beside him claimed that on July 1, 2017 brother of a young patient, who said that he was a policeman, pulled out a pistol and used abusive language against him. The situation was controlled by the people.”

“I reported the matter to the city police where sub-inspector Sajjad Haider wrote a report against the policeman, but no action has been taken so far,” he said.

Other sources said that every month one or two babies died in the WCH and their relatives staged protests demanding investigations against the doctors. Keeping all such threats in view, the doctors have demanded separate internal security at both the health institutions.

DPO Javed Iqbal said that an advisory had been issued to all the hospitals to hire security guards, raise walls and install CCTV cameras, but they always made the excuse of funds shortage.

KILLED: Two people were killed and four injured in separate incidents here on Tuesday.

A police statement said that one Shahid Khan killed his nephew due to unknown reasons in Bazidkhel. Iqbal, a brother of the deceased, filed the case against his uncle in Shaheed Riaz police station.

On Indus Highway, a pickup van was hit from behind by a speeding coaster and as a result Najam Khan, a resident of Dhoda Sharif, was killed. In another accident, a coaster and car collided on Rawalpindi road, leaving four passengers injured. The Gumbat police have registered the case.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2017