Female doctor injured in acid attack at Quetta hospital; suspect killed in encounter

QUETTA: A female doctor at the Provincial Civil Hospital in Quetta was seriously injured on Saturday when an employee of the hospital allegedly threw acid on her, police said.

A senior official of the Civil Hospital told Dawn that the doctor suffered severe burn injuries to her face, chest, legs and other parts of her body. He added that she was shifted to a private hospital immediately after initial treatment at the Civil Hospital, and that arrangements were being made to transfer her to Karachi via air ambulance.

Hospital sources said around 70 per cent of her body was affected in the incident.

The suspect, who allegedly committed the act, escaped from the hospital after throwing acid on the doctor.

According to police, the accused was killed in an encounter after law enforcers traced him to the area from where he was attempting to flee by bus.

Police said they asked the suspect to surrender, but he instead opened fire on the police party. The police retaliated, and in the exchange of fire, the accused was killed.

“The accused was killed in a police encounter while attempting to escape from Quetta by bus,” DIG Quetta Imran Shaukat said.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti and Health Minister Bakht Kakar took serious notice of the incident and strongly condemned the attack.

Bugti directed the relevant health authorities to provide all available resources for the best possible treatment of the injured doctor.