October 13, 2008	Monday	Shawwal 13, 1429

MINGORA, Oct 12: After destroying schools, tourist spots, and other government installation in Swat, it is now the turn of hospitals as the nursing staff hostel at the District Headquarters Hospital Saidu Sharif was vacated by female staff members after receiving threats from suspected Taliban militants.

“Two bearded men entered the nursery ward of Saidu Hospital and asked me where the duty nurse was. I told them she was at another ward. They went back after wandering in the ward, saying that they would come again the next day,” a source in the hospital quoted a nurse on duty as saying.

The terrified nurse reportedly told her colleagues: “God saved me as I was not in uniform, otherwise they would have killed or kidnapped me.”

The nursing staff hostel received yet another threatening message on Saturday night asking the 30-35 staffers to vacate the building as they (Taliban) were going to blew it up, a source said.

The scared nurses after consultation with the head nurse left the hostel at night and went the houses of their local colleagues. “We have vacated the staff hostel and now residing with our local colleagues or in the houses of local peons and security guards,” a nurse told Dawn.

“We told the hospital administration to provide security or send us on leave as it was not possible for us to do the job,” she said. The nursing staff demanded appointment of three more guards at the hostel.

Medical Superintendent (MS) Mohammad Khan told Dawn on phone that soon after the complaint he had contacted the DCO and DPO Swat to provide protection to the nursing staff of the hospital.