KARACHI: Three of the injured students of the Army Public School Peshawar attack are in need of financial help and assistance, said spokesperson for the Shuhada-o-Ghazi forum Qaiser Ali on Monday.

He said the students — Amir Mehboob, Mubashir Subhan and Ansar Aijaz — required orthopaedic surgeries which were performed in Germany.

Amir received a bullet in his elbow, crushing the elbow bone as a result; Mubashir’s three fingers were hit by a bullet; and a bullet struck Ansar’s palm injuring two fingers as well, he said.

Know more: APS students reach Karachi for further treatment

After witnessing what the parents claimed was ‘first-aid treatment’ at hospitals in Peshawar, they chose to bring their children to Karachi for further treatment, said the spokesperson.

In discussions with the administration of the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), the parents were informed the surgeries could be carried out at the AKUH as well but the results might differ.

For instance, in the case of Ansar, the doctors could perform surgery but his fingers would not bend for the rest of his life. The doctors said the same in the cases of Mubashir and Amir, said the spokesperson.

“We’ve not yet decided on what to do, but if need be, we will definitely choose the option of getting the surgeries done in Germany. As for financial assistance, we are thinking of contacting the government as well as rights organisations to assist us,” Mr Ali said, adding that they would decide on the surgeries only after consulting risks and possibilities with the doctors.

At present, 18 injured of the APS attack are under treatment at the AKUH and 17 more are expected to arrive in the coming days.

An AKUH spokesperson responding to an inquiry by Dawn said the hospital was fully equipped to treat all APS patients. However, it could not stop families from going abroad if they wished to do so. The source reiterated that the AKUH was the only hospital in Pakistan which was accredited by internationally renowned accreditation agencies.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2015

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