HYDERABAD Dr Sajid Arain, Public Relations Officer of the Liaquat University Hospital (LUH), was gunned down in an incident of target killing in Latifabad unit-2 on Auto Bhan on Friday morning while he, along with his wife, was dropping his children at a school.
According to reports he, along with his wife, went to the school to drop his younger son. Family sources claimed that while his wife was heading towards the car she saw a lone assailant wearing a helmet pumping bullets into Dr Arain who was sitting on the driving seat of his car. The assailant fled.
She cried for help but nobody came to her help. Later, one person helped her take her husband to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Later, Dr Arain was laid to rest in a local graveyard. He left behind two sons and a widow.
Dr Arain's killing followed Thursday's incident in the hospital when the newly-appointed medical superintendent Dr Nawaz Abbasi was manhandled allegedly by activists of ruling PPP's student wing Sindh People's Students Federation (SPSF). Abbasi has accused Rizwan Mughal, the SPSF's Hyderabad district president, of attacking him with some other persons over a diet's contract issue which had been awarded to the lowest bidder.
Dr Arain was seen accompanying the medical superintendent approaching Rangers authorities following the attack. He had also identified those who had forced their way into the house and attacked the medical superintendent as he was present there. He had argued with them over the issue saying that tender process was completed before this medical superintendent took over.
Additional medical superintendent (diet) Dr Ismail Memon has lodged a case against Rizwan Mughal and others at Market Police Station but a counter case has also been lodged against the medical superintendent, accusing his guards for attacking Mughal near the OPD on Thursday. No arrests are made.
Family sources and friends of Dr Arain - a humble and soft spoken man - claimed that he had been receiving threats from some people over his cell phones. He was getting messages, hurling abuses at him. We then got that number blocked, said a friend.
He said that even Dr Arain's brother got a threatening SMS for deceased's children. It means someone was following Dr Arain and the style of killing also proves it.
According to his father, Akram Arain, the deceased had shared the same fact with him and they had approached law enforcing agencies in this regard but to no avail. He said that the messages continued unabated. His murder FIR has not been lodged.
The hospital administration has been under tremendous pressure of different mafias that are active there. The local purchase (LP) of medicines for outdoor patients has been closed and only indoor patients are getting medicines. It is known to all and sundry that LP for outdoor patients has been a major source of corruption in the hospital.
Working in the hospital remained completely paralysed on Friday following Dr Arain's murder. All operation and surgeries that were cited on the operation theatre list were cancelled due to a strike by doctors and paramedical staff. They wore black arm bands in protest against the killing and insecurity.
Outdoor patients suffered badly as almost all departments remained closed in the OPD.
Sindh Secretary health Syed Hashim Raza Zaidi attended funeral of the deceased. He chaired a meeting of the hospital's medical superintendent and Director-General health services Sindh Abdul Sattar Korai.
The medical superintendent conveyed fears of doctors who claimed that they were suffering from a sense of insecurity.
While talking to journalists the secretary also admitted that a sense of insecurity existed among doctors and promised full security to them.
The medical superintendent told Dawn that doctors had called off the strike after secretary health assured them of deploying Rangers in the hospital for protection of doctors.
He said that it was quite disturbing that the police, instead of arresting the accused nominated by AMS of hospital in the case, were allowed to lodge a counter case against him.
Meanwhile, vice chancellor of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) and All Sindh People's Para Medical Staff Welfare Association expressed deep sorrow over murder of Dr.Sajid Arain and demanded arrest of culprits.
PMA condemns target killing of doctors
In another statement issued by Pakistan Medical Association (Karachi), on Saturday morning, doctors strongly condemned yet another murder of a senior doctor. A similar incident occurred a few days back in Quetta when Dr Iqbal Zaidi was killed by unidentified miscreants.
It is unfortunate that PMA Karachi, has repeatedly drawn attention of the law enforcement agencies towards the plight of doctors, but to no effect. By now, this easy phenomena of killing doctors has become a routine, and right to life of those who are providing services to humanity, is sadly no more available to them in the country, said the statement.
They demanded immediate arrest of the culprits, warning the government that the medical community will be forced to stage country-wide protests by calling a total shut down of health services in the country, if stern action against the culprits is not taken with in 24 hours.
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