QUETTA: Police in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province said on Saturday they had killed a man accused of throwing acid on a female doctor inside Quetta’s Civil Hospital, hours after the attack left her with serious burn injuries.
The attack took place in the orthopedic ward of the province’s largest government-run hospital, where the suspect allegedly entered the doctor’s room and threw acid on her before fleeing.
CCTV footage seen by Arab News showed the accused knocking on the door of Dr. Mahnoor Nasir’s room before carrying out the assault.
“The accused Hamayoun Shah was a lift operator in the Civil Hospital Quetta who was waiting for the doctor and when she arrived inside her room, he threw acid on her,” Imran Shoukat, deputy inspector general of police in Quetta, told Arab News.
“The accused was attempting to escape from Quetta city but the police surrounded him and killed him during an exchange of fire,” he said, adding: “The police are investigating the motives behind this heinous act.”
The incident triggered anger among doctors and hospital staff, prompting the Young Doctors Association (YDA) to announce a boycott of all services at government hospitals except emergency care.
“Dr. Mahnoor Nasir has received 35 percent burn injuries,” Dr. Hai Baloch, president of the YDA, said while addressing a news conference at Civil Hospital Quetta, describing the attack as a blatant attempt to murder the doctor.
Police and health officials declined to comment on the extent of Nasir’s injuries, saying they were awaiting her latest medical report from Karachi.
Babar Yousafzai, an aide to the provincial home department, said the government was engaged with protesting doctors.
“The victim of the acid attack, Dr. Mahnoor Nasir, has been shifted to Karachi through an air ambulance service for better treatment,” he told Arab News.
