RAWALPINDI: A clash left one woman dead and four others injured, including a pedestrian and a ward master from the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) on Friday, police said.

Three injured, Mazram Bibi, Raja Tanveer and Ibrar Elahi, were brought to BBH. They were followed by their rivals, who then opened fire in the hospital, injuring two other people including a ward master.

Police claimed to have arrested five of the attackers, and said a hunt has been launched for the individuals who escaped. Mazram Bibi, who was critically injured, was pronounced dead by hospital doctors.

The clash began between Ijaz Ahmed and Shahbaz, outside their home on the Service Road in Sadiqabad. Their relative Mazram Bibi and three others – including Shakeel Ahmed, a pedestrian – were injured in the crossfire.

The Ameer Afzal group, the other party in the clash, followed the injured to BBH and started quarrelling with the relatives of the injured. Someone involved in the quarrel then pulled out a gun and opened fire. Raja Noman, a ward master on duty in the emergency ward, was injured.

Police reinforcements were later called in to control the situation.

According to witnesses, once the gunfire began in the emergency ward, several patient attendants ran outside the ward in panic.

DSP Raja Taifoor said all the individuals involved in the clash belonged to the same family. Mr Taifoor named Khaliq Mehmood as the individual who opened fire in the hospital.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2016