KARACHI, March 1: An NGO has criticised the Aga Khan University Hospital of its “ultra vires’ attitude towards the parents of an in-house epilepsy patient, Aariz Ali Shaikh, 15, alleging that the management of the hospital was not allowing the couple to see their son for many days.

The AKUH has, however, rejected the allegation. Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, President of the NGO, The Custodian, Kaiser Shafiullah said the investigations conducted by his organisation found the attitude of the hospital management towards the parents and their close relatives ultra vires.

The parents, he pointed out, could not see their son for over a fortnight now. However, an AKUH spokesperson, when contacted, maintained that an uncle of the patient had misbehaved with the hospital staff and he was not allowed to see the patient anymore. The spokesperson said that the patient’ parents had repeatedly been advised to visit their ward in the ICU and not to stay away from him.