Kiyya Qadir Baloch
Islamabad: Hunger strike of Dera Bugti affectees is continuing for the last four days outside Al-Shifa international hospital for getting the dead body of their one fellow, who died on July 3 in the same hospital but the administration refused to hand over the dead body to Dera Bugti affectees which may lead them to hold guns again as the government seems not ‘interested’ in resolving the issue of Baloch refugees.
It is worth mentioning here that around 405 refugees families of Dera Bugti have settled in camps in front of a private hospital where a 35 years old brother has allegedly been denied the body of his deceased younger brother by an Islamabad hospital. The IDPs started the protest on Wednesday and set their hunger strike camps in front of Al-Shifa international hospital after the Islamabad administration asked the hospital to refrain from handing over the body of an IDP who died early morning.
On Thursday, to build pressure on the government, hundreds of protesting refugees from Dera Bugti declared a hunger strike outside the ShifaInternationalHospital and pledged to continue their strike until the dead body is handed over to them.
According to detailed reports, a 24-year-old Gulsheer Bugti, a bugti refugee suffered from diarrhea at a refugee camp in front of National press club Islamabad who was shifted to Al-Shifa international hospital in H8/4 where he died four days before at Hospital, which has subsequently refused to hand over the corpse to the deceased family after city administration asked the hospital to refrain from handing over the body.
Talking to this scribe, a hospital spokesman said that they have no problems to handover the deceased body to his family but they had been asked by city government to refrain from handing over dead body to them.
While an official of city government who wished to remain unnamed told this scribe that they would allow the protesters to take the body if they avoid using it for political motives and will bury it respectively.
Additionally Jamhuri Watan Party (JWP) leader Nawabzada Gohram Bugti son of Talal Bugti and grandson of late veteran Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti who is leading the Bugti refugees in Islamabad told that they would not use the body for any political motives and they would bury it.
He said that in this regard he had held talks with Chief Secretary Balochistan, Spokesman of Balochistan Chief Minister including other high officials and requested them to ask Islamabad city government to handover their dead body to them but instead of passing five days hospital administration on the direction of city government is not ready to handover the dead body to them.
He further said that dozens of people, mostly children, have died of starvation in the settlements in the past eight years. “We want to go home but the government is creating obstacles in our way,” he added.
He further said that 405 families of refugees who are on strike in Islamabad from the last 65 days are living in deplorable conditions, and in dire need of government assistance.
He said several high government officials, including the Chief Minister Balochistan, home secretary Balochistan, and Interior Minister had promised to send them back to their respected areas but nothing had become of those promises.
Meanwhile a city magistrate on Friday issued a notice ordering all the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Dera Bugti who have gone on a hunger strike outside the outpatient department (OPD) entrance of Shifa International Hospital (SIH) to disperse immediately
Kiyya Qadir Baloch is a freelance journalist associated with Daily Times Lahore currently based in Islamabad. He can be reached at kiyya.baloch@gmail.com