ISLAMABAD - The wounds of F-8 district courts carnage were yet not healed that vegetable and fruit market blast flooded Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) with injured people and dead bodies along with their wailing relatives.
A total of 74 victims of the blast were taken to the hospital and of them three died at the hospital. The hospital reported 21 deaths and after identification handed over 19 bodies to the relatives.
The hospital has one full body and a bag of body parts that could not be identified. Their samples have been sent for DNA tests, informed Dr Ayesha Essani of the hospital. No patient or body was refereed to Polyclinic Hospital.
“Forty-four patients are still admitted in the hospital while nine people were discharged after treatment. The condition of six patients is critical and two are in intensive care unit, while the rest of the injured have sustained moderate injuries. Most of the patients have sustained fractures and lower limb injuries due to ball bearings and pallets of the bomb. Patients with face and upper parts injuries are a few,” said Dr Essani.
The injured patients range from 13-year-old to 60-year-old and all are from lower stratum of society while many of them are sole bread earners of their families.
“Noor, the youngest injured of the blast, used to go to the fruit market daily. He is the sole bread earner for his family. But doctors have decided to amputate his leg after being badly hurt in the blast. Now the family is losing hope they have pinned on him,” said Nawaz Khan, uncle of the boy.
Zairat Gul who daily used to buy fruits and vegetables from the market and sell them in Nowshera said he was in his senses when the blast occurred. “Bidding was going on and I heard a sound of an explosion that created panic among the people gathered there. I don’t know who shifted me here,” he added. His youngest brother said that Gul’s wife and children didn’t know about his injuries because they didn’t have television at home. He added that they had not informed Gul’s wife and children as they would get panic and upset.
Pims and Islamabad Capitol Territory administration provided ambulances to the relatives of the victims to take the bodies to their hometowns. The relatives were concerned over long delays and shortage of coffins and ambulances. Even some of the relatives squabbled with the administration over these issues.
The hospital administration maintains that to provide coffins and ambulances is not the responsibility of the hospital. “It’s the job of the city administration but still we have provided 10 ambulances and coffins that we have,” the hospital administration said.
Lack of coordination among the hospital administration also perturbed the relatives of the victims when they announced contrasting figures of casualties. A female relative of a patient fainted on hearing high number of casualties despite her relative had sustained minor injuries.
Information Minister Pervez Rashid, State Minister for Interior and Education Muhammad Balighur Rehman, State Minister for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar and other parliamentarians visited the patients. MD Baitul Maal Abid Waheed Sheikh announced Rs 30,000 for each victim of the blast.