Gojal: 32 year old mother of three passes away due to lack of medical facilities

Asif Sakhi

Islamabad, March 14: The two daughters and only son of Zohra Hussain will not be able to see their mother anymore. She passed away yesterday in Islamabad, hundred of miles away from her hometown, Passu, located deep in the Gojal Valley of Upper Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan.

Zohra, 32, had been shifted to Gilgit for diagnosis and treatment after she fell ill. Because there was no cure or treatment for her in Gilgit, she had to be airlifted to Islamabad in search of better quality health services. She passed away in Islamabad within half an hour of reaching in the federal capital. She had breathing problems, say some of her relatives.

Her in-laws blame lack of adequate medical facilities and medical equipment in Gilgit, which is the administrative hub of the entire Gilgit-Baltistan region, as the cause of her death. The doctors in Gilgit, reportedly, were unable to diagnose the disease. She was laid to rest in Passu today in the presence of thousands of people.

Born in Hussani Village of Gojal Valley, Zohra, who had wedded Hussain Ali Sanjar of Passu in 2007, was known to the people of the region as a selfless community worker and an active member of the Girl Guides movement.

Zohra’s is one of the many stories of lives getting lost due to absence of adequate health facilities in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. The authorities, past and present, have failed to increase the quality and reach of the health facilities in the region despite of umpteen lofty and hollow promises.