Murtaza Bhutto

TRIBUNAL DISSATISFIED WITH MEDICAL
BOARDS' REPORTS
KARACHI, Dec. 31, 1996: The chairman of the three-member judicial
tribunal, Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, observed on Tuesday that the 25-member
government-appointed medical boards to examine the injuries sustained by
the late inspector Haq Nawaz Sial and ASP Shahid Hayat in the Sept 20
killings in Clifton had not prepared "speaking reports." Had the medical
experts in their respective fields of specialisation prepared professional
reports covering all aspects of the injuries by referring to leading authorities
and authoritative books, there was no need to call the members of the
medical boards to testify before the tribunal to clarify various observations
which were inadequately covered or not made at all in their findings, the
chairman observed. The judge was of the view that merely on the basis of the
reports no body can understand the injuries that the police officers had
suffered and whatever the witnesses are saying now are not part of their
reports. They are now giving the evidence on the basis of their recollections
which have not been recorded in their official reports.
In the case of a 11-member medical board constituted by the government for
the examination of ASP Shahid Hayat of Saddar police station, the tribunal
observed that the entire report of the "learned 11-member board was based
on the certificate issued by AKUH, and made no single contribution on their
own." Not only that the ASP was examined by a medical board 10 days after
the incidence of firing when his wound had almost healed, the board acted as
a mere rubber stamp and what they should have done was to say that the
surgeon who operated upon the ASP should have been asked to submit a
report to the government. The 11-member board was headed by Prof Karim
Siddiqui, chairman of the department of surgery, Dow Medical College,
Karachi, and two of AKUH doctors were also members.
Dr Tariq Mirza, 45, associate professor of forensic medicine, DMC, was
examined by the tribunal to seek explanations of the three reports submitted
by the medical boards, on which he was also represented. The 71st witness
examined so far said he took part in the deliberations of all three cases
referred to the medical boards separately — Sial's foot injury, examination of
his body six days after his death in shooting, and the injury sustained by ASP
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