Daily Times

A petition was filed against the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Thursday for allegedly not providing emergency medical care to passengers at airports.

The petition was filed by renowned lawyer SM Zafar and Syed Ali Zafar. Earlier, SM Zafar’s son Syed Tariq Zafar had died at Jinnah Terminal, Karachi Airport.

The petition has been filed through Mehmood Y Mandviwalla in the Sindh High Court, claiming that CAA had no doctor nor any emergency medical equipment, facilities and services available at the Karachi Airport on the fateful day when Syed Tariq Zafar suffered a cardiac arrest and lost his life at Karachi Airport.

The petitioners stated that the CAA breached the duty of care it owed to all persons using airports in Pakistan; in this case specifically Syed Tariq Zafar whose life could have been saved had CAA been able to provide medical emergency, equipment, facilities and services at airports under its management and control.

“At the time of the occurrence there was no doctor, or any of the following were available at the airport ie emergency medical facilities and services, Automated external defibrillators (AEDs), stretchers or standby ambulance. CAA has failed to provide inter alia the following: (i) adequately trained doctors, medical staff and facilities at airports under its control; (ii) cardiac resuscitation stations (CRSs) or AEDs and other emergency equipment at airports under its direction and control; and (iii) stretchers, standby ambulances or even general standard operating procedures for meeting such medical emergency situations,” the petition stated.

The petition invoked the jurisdiction of the high court, citing a matter of grave public importance, involving enforcement of fundamental rights of the people of Pakistan, particularly with respect to the right to life and the right to safety, as guaranteed under the Constitution of Pakistan. The petition also suggests several recommendations for the CAA to consider and implement to ensure such gross criminal negligence does not result in the loss of another human life.

Directions have been sought from the Sindh High Court to take action against CAA and its officials for their negligence in failing to provide proper medical emergency facilities and services.