PESHAWAR: A local court on Monday confirmed the pre-arrest bail of MPAs Nighat Orakzai and Shafiq Sher Afridi, who were charged with storming a public sector hospital along with their supporters and attacking doctors and nurses.

Additional district and sessions judge Mohammad Tayyab pronounced the order after the completion of arguments by lawyers for both sides.

The lawmakers were granted interim bail in May.

Ms Orakzai belongs to the Pakistan Peoples Party, while Mr Afridi is an MPA of the Balochistan Awami Party and belongs to Khyber tribal district.

An FIR was registered against them at the Hayatabad Police Station on May 3 after the incident occurred at the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC).

The FIR was registered under sections 186, 506, 427 and 341 of the Pakistan Penal Code for obstructing public servants from discharging duty, criminal intimidation, mischief, causing damage to property, and wrongful restraint.

Advocate Ali Zaman appeared for the petitioners and said his clients was falsely implicated in the case as they didn’t participate in any act of violence.

He said a child had allegedly died due to the negligence of the hospital staff, so his relatives as the residents of the areas were enraged.

The counsel contended that the two MPAs had tried to stop the relatives from being involved in any violent act.

He argued that the case was political motivated and registered under pressure from the health secretary.

The FIR, which was registered on the complaint of HMC hospital director Dr Faisal Shazad, revealed that a 15-year-old boy from Khyber tribal district was brought to the hospital with a bullet wound on April 30 but died during treatment despite being given the best possible care by doctors.

It added that the patient’s attendants resorted to rioting after leaving the hospital’s casualty ward and blocked the main road leading to it on both sides.

The FIR said that the mob also stopped the hospital’s ambulances from using the emergency gate, blocked entrance to the casualty ward and roughed up doctors and nurses before holding them hostage.

It added that the mob later pelted stones at the hospital on the instigation of MPAs Nighat Orakzai and Shafiq Sher Afridi, who also tried to save the armed attackers from the police’s action.

The FIR said that both lawmakers were also involved in a brawl with the police personnel.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2021