DERA GHAZI KHAN, April 11: Treatment of the would-be suicide bomber who reportedly failed to blow himself up at the shrine of Hazrat Syed Ahmad Sultan (Sakhi Sarwar) has become problematic for the doctors given the militants’ threat.

Sources say because of militants’ threat no doctor was ready to keep the high-profile patient in the hospital as he had been twice referred to the Nishtar Hospital, Multan, and was sent back to DG Khan each time after a day or two.

Umer Fidai (15) was caught injured after the first suicide attack outside the shrine carried out by Ismaeel Fidai (13) on April 3. The attack had left 51 people dead and more than 100 injured.

Umer was referred to the Nishtar Hospital for surgery as he had lost his arm and a shoulder and sustained injuries to his stomach.

In Multan, he went under gallbladder, leg and arm surgeries.

A medical board at the DHQ hospital, DG Khan, had declared that the treatment of the patient was not possible there because of “lack of facilities”.

Doctors at the Nishtar and DG Khan DHQ hospitals admitted they feared a terrorists’ strike if Umer was kept at any of the facilities for long. Requesting anonymity, they said keeping the patient for treatment would be tantamount to exposing doctors as well as other patients to militants’ attack that might be carried out to kill or free Umer.

So no body in the two hospitals was ready to take the risk, they said.

Umer was first shifted to Nishtar Hospital on April 5 and after operation he was sent back to DG Khan on April 7. He was then sent to jail hospital on April 8. On April 9, he was again referred to Multan because of his “critical condition”. However, on April 11 he was again sent back to DG Khan central jail hospital where necessary medical facilities were not available.

A police officer, seeking anonymity, said there were life threats to all concerned authorities, including those of district police, border military police and district health department.

He said the injured suicide bomber could be targeted by militants while being shifted from one hospital to another as he was prime witness in the case. If Umer was eliminated, the prosecution would not have much evidence to be produced in the court, he added.

Meanwhile, reliable sources told Dawn that all those involved in the twin suicide strikes on the shrine had been identified and most of them had been arrested.

They further maintained that about two dozen suspects had been arrested in the wake of twin blasts.