KARACHI, June 14: Armed men on Tuesday took over a major private hospital, fired shots inside the health facility, ransacked its offices and forced the administration to suspend several services, including the emergency unit, officials and witnesses said.

They said that a number of charged youths stormed Liaquat National Hospital on Stadium Road where a wounded youngster had been brought from the Gulshan campus of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology.

The young man had suffered a bullet wound during an armed clash between two student groups that also left three passers-by and a police officer injured, said an official of the Aziz Bhatti police station.

“Fida Hussain Kakar was a Pakhtun Students Federation activist who was shifted to Liaquat National Hospital,” said SSP Umer Ahsan of the Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town.

“The PSF activists said they were denied proper treatment and someone tried to disallow their aide due medical treatment, which sparked a reaction and armed youths stormed the hospital.”

The witnesses said they saw armed men roaming on the hospital premises. They said the armed men also fired several shots into the air compelling the administration to suspend emergency service and close out-patient departments.

Security steps

The Liaquat National Hospital administration in a statement condemned the attack and demanded renewed security arrangements.

The SSP of Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town said the police rushed in on a timely basis and managed to control the situation soon after a complaint was received from the hospital.

“We moved in APCs (armoured personnel carriers) and took over the hospital. The services resumed shortly after we moved in,” he said, adding that the law-enforcers managed to disperse the charged mob that included armed men.

“There were armed men and some were seen carrying AK-47 assault rifles. They also damaged three security cameras installed inside the hospital though there was no damage to any other property,” he said.

The federal university, meanwhile, announced that it would keep the campus closed on June 15 and 16. According to a university statement, exams along with all educational activities on these two days have been postponed.