LAHORE - Unprecedented security arrangements were made at the Lahore General Hospital (LGH) on Tuesday to avoid any untoward incident during visits of VVIPs to the hospital to see people injured in Monday’s suicide bombing at Kot Lakhpat Fruit and Vegetable Market.

Though security had already been beefed up at the health facility after the bombing, it was further intensified on Tuesday before visits of political and military leadership to the hospital.

No irrelevant person was allowed entry at the time of the visit of Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. Rangers and military police personnel assumed duty at the hospital gates and inside the boundary walls to avoid any untoward incident during the visit.

Accompanied by Lahore Corps Commander Lt-Gen Sadiq Ali and Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt-Gen Asif Ghafoor Bajwa, the COAS enquired after the injured. He visited every injured, enquired after him and prayed for his early recovery. He was given a briefing by the hospital management about the condition of the injured and provision of treatment to them. Acting Inspector General of Punjab Police Usman Khattak, CCPO Amin Wains and DIG (Operations) Dr Haider Ashraf also accompanied the COAS who stayed at the health facility for about half an hour.

The government had declared emergency at the LGH where most of the injured were brought after the tragic incident. The LGH management claimed smooth service delivery and provision of immediate treatment facilities to the injured.

Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI)/LGH Principal Prof Ghias-un-Nabi Tayyab said that additional health care providers and allied health staff had been assigned treatment of the injured. He said that qualified doctors and staff were performing duties round the clock. He said that emergency duties of doctors would continue till complete recovery of the injured.

At least 26 people, including nine policemen, were killed and 64 injured in the tragic incident where terrorists targeted a police team assisting an anti-encroachment operation in the close vicinity of Arfa Karim Randhawa Complex. After some of the injured were shifted from Ittefaq Hospital, the number of the injured getting treatment at LGH rose to 39.

Like in the past, politicians in large numbers visited LGH and other hospitals to enquire after the injured. Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Ittefaq Hospital and enquired after the injured. MNA Hamza Shehbaz from the ruling party; former governor of Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, MNA Shafqat Mahmood and MPA Aslam Iqbal from the PTI; Khurram Nawaz Gandapur from the Pakistan Awami Tehreek; Qamar Zaman Kaira, Samina Khalid Ghurki and Aslam Gill from the PPP and minority legislators Shehzad Munshi and Tariq Gill were amongst the politicians who visited the LGH on Tuesday. They went from bed to bed and enquired after the injured. They prayed for early recovery of the injured and praised the hospital administration for extending best medical facilities to the injured.