A Sahiwal government schoolteacher who received bullet injuries in an attack by unidentified assailants a few days ago lies hapless in the surgical ward of Services Hospital. According to the details, a schoolteacher, Marium, while on her way to school on April 23, was attacked by unidentified armed bikers. Her husband Aftab told Pakistan Today that he took injured Marium to Civil Hospital and later to Qayyum Hospital, Sahiwal, but because of a lack of facilities there, the doctors referred them to Services Hospital Lahore.
He said no government official visited Marium in the hospital and although the Sahiwal District Administration knew about the incident, it extended no help. So far all medical expenses were being borne by him, said Aftab. The Sahiwal Education Executive District Officer Naheed Wasif told Pakistan Today that since the assault was based on personal enmity and took place outside the premises of the school, the Education Department was not responsible for it. She said Marium could claim the expense for her medical treatment but the Education Department could only provide limited funds.
Punjab Teachers Union(PTU) leaders condemned the incident and demanded the authorities arrest the criminals quickly. Aftab said his wife had been a physical education instructor at the school for the last 25 years. He said he wanted to register a first information report against the criminals, but the deteriorating health condition of his wife forced him to leave for Lahore. Relatives of the injured teacher said they were not expecting any aid from the government. They claimed that they had no enmity with anyone and were unaware of the motive of the criminals.
Lahore PTU President Allah Rakha Gujjar, while talking to Pakistan Today, said that the Punjab chief minister should look into the matter and order a quick arrest of the criminals. “Marium has lost her leg which is the integral part of body. The Government must announce financial support for her,” said Gujjar, adding that the attack was not a matter of personal enmity, but was a part of increasing incidents of harassment against females by influential people of the area.
