KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday sought replies from the Civil Aviation Authority and others over their alleged failure to provide emergency medical care to passengers at airports.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, issued this direction while hearing a petition filed by lawyer S.M. Zafar and Syed Ali Zafar.

The petitioners submitted in the petition through Advocate Mehmood Y. Mandviwalla that S.M. Zafar’s son Syed Tariq Zafar had died from a cardiac arrest at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.

The counsel submitted that the Civil Aviation Authority had no doctor nor any emergency medical equipment, facilities and services available at the Karachi airport on the day when Syed Tariq Zafar suffered a cardiac arrest and lost his life at the airport.

The petitioners stated that the CAA breached the duty of care it owed to all persons using airports in the country; in this case specifically Syed Tariq Zafar whose life could have been saved, if the CAA had been able to provide medical emergency equipment, facilities and services at airports under its management and control.

The petitioners submitted that at the time of the occurrence there was no doctor or any of the following were available at the airport ie emergency medical facilities and services, automated external defibrillators (AEDs), stretchers or standby ambulance.

They contended that the CAA had failed to provide adequately trained doctors, medical staff and facilities at airports under its control, cardiac resuscitation stations (CRSs) or AEDs and other emergency equipment, stretchers, standby ambulances or even general standard operating procedures for meeting such medical emergency situations.

The petitioners submitted that the matter was of grave public importance involving enforcement of fundamental rights of the people, particularly with respect to the right to life and the right to safety, as guaranteed under the Constitution.

They also suggested that several recommendations for the CAA to consider and implement the same to ensure such gross negligence would not result in the loss of another human life.

The court was pleaded to order action against CAA, its officials for their “negligence” in failing to provide proper medical emergency facilities and services.

SSP, SHO summoned

A local court once again summoned the SHO of Khawaja Ajmer Nagri police station to record his statement in an alleged land-grabbing case.

Senior civil judge (Central) Muneer Ahmed Panhwar also directed SHO Imtiaz Jutt to act in accordance with the law in the matter as he was alleged to have been taking side in the matter.

The court also summoned SSP Central Rao Arif Aslam, ASI Ghulam Hussain, Ahmed Meer, Aziz Baloch and Younis Mengal in court on July 1 along with their comments on an application accusing them of grabbing a piece of land.

The complainant Asif Shah said that land mafia in collusion with police had grabbed a piece of land he had purchased in Shah Nawaz Bhutto Colony from Umer Mengal in 1990. However upon Mengal’s death, his son Younis encroached upon it and sold it to another person, he added.

Shah said that he went to the police station to lodge a complaint, but the SHO refused to entertain his request and tore the application.

The court directed both the parties to maintain status quo in respect of the subject land till the next hearing.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2019