The Punjab government revealed on Wednesday that the abandoned bodies that were found on the roof of Nishtar Hospital’s mortuary in Multan are not of Balochistan’s missing persons and have been buried.
Punjab Chief Minister’s Advisor, Tariq Zaman Gujjar, clarified that the Vice Chancellor and administration of Nishtar Medical Health University have a complete record of abandoned bodies and none of them is a missing person
On the same day, the hospital’s administration and Edhi Foundation buried the remains of 66 corpses, all found in various stages of decomposition.
Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) Chief, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, had also expressed concerns that the bodies could be of Balochistan’s missing persons. Mengal had demanded that an investigation must be held.
The Baloch leader also asked for conducting DNA tests on the corpses, fearing that some of them might be missing persons.
Responding to this, Gujjar said that he respects Akhtar Mengal but his statement was surprising in that he suspected the abandoned bodies might be those of missing persons.
Last week, the grisly discovery of putrefied bodies found lying in open on the roof of Multan’s Nishtar Hospital grabbed the country’s attention after videos were widely shared on social media.
At that time, it was speculated by online media that up to 500 bodies were allegedly found on the rooftop of the hospital. Soon after, an investigation was launched.
Earlier, Nishtar Medical University’s (NMU) Head of Anatomy Department, Dr Mariam Ashraf said that the facility does not just keep bodies for research purposes but also for safekeeping, if handed over by police or Rescue personnel.
She claimed that there were only four bodies on the rooftop. “The only reason for keeping bodies on the roof is that their influx is huge and they aren’t being returned back to police stations in the numbers that they should,” she claimed.
