• Victim’s eyes damaged, but is said to be in stable condition
• CM honours ward boy who helped victim; Aseefa recommends him for country’s highest civilian award
• FIR registered; political leaders slam incident
QUETTA: The Young Doctors Association (YDA) on Sunday announced an indefinite strike, shutting down Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) and elective services in all government hospitals across the provincial capital, to protest the acid attack on one of their female colleagues.
A day earlier, 29-year-old Mahnoor Nasir was seriously injured at the Civil Hospital when another employee threw acid on her. The attacker, later identified by police as Humayun Shah, was said to have been killed in an encounter after law enforcers traced him as he attempted to flee on a bus.
Meanwhile, Dr Nasir was shifted to Karachi after receiving initial treatment in Quetta. Currently, she is receiving care at Aga Khan University Hospital. Sources at the hospital diclosed to Dawn that her condition was stable. She has bilateral corneal opacities — a condition in which the clear surface of the eye becomes scarred — but her vision remains preserved, according to the sources. The plastic surgeon and ophthalmologist had been consulted to examine her, they added.
Meanwhile, hospital employee Abdul Razzaq, who could be seen trying to help the injured doctor in CCTV footage of the incident, was discharged from a private hospital in Quetta, where he was being treated for burn injuries.
‘Selfless gallantry’
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti on Sunday visited Karachi to inquire after the injured doctor, and announced that a civil award would be conferred on Razzaq.
In a post on X, CM Bugti said Mr Razzaq, who also works at the Civil Hospital, “displayed extraordinary courage, humanity, and dedication” by coming to his colleague’s aid.
MNA Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari also condemned the attack and said she requested President Asif Ali Zardari to confer the highest civilian award on Abdul Razzaq for his “selfless gallantry”, as per a statement by the President’s Secretariat.
Senate Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan and Balochistan National Party-Mengal President Sardar Akhtar Mengal also strongly condemned the acid attack. Mr Khan described the attack as a cowardly, inhumane, and intolerable act.
Taking to X, Mr Mengal said: “What happened to the female doctor in Quetta the other day goes against our traditions, over values, and everything Balochistan stands for.”
Indefinite strike
Strongly condemning the acid attack on Dr Nasir inside Civil Hospital premises, the YDA has announced an indefinite strike, shutting down OPDs and elective services in all government hospitals across the provincial capital.
The decision was announced during a press conference on Sunday.
YDA leaders expressed deep outrage over the incident, and blamed it on the privatisation of hospital management and security services.
They questioned the police claim that the suspect was killed in an encounter, arguing that he should have been arrested alive so that all facts surrounding the attack could be thoroughly investigated.
The YDA also presented a four-point charter of demands to the government and made the restoration of hospital services conditional upon their implementation.
Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2026
