Athar Minallah, an attorney on the board of directors at Rawalpindi General Hospital where Benazir Bhutto died last week, said today that the police chief of Rawalpindi prevented doctors from performing an autopsy on Bhutto.
The police chief, Aziz Saud, said he suggested an autopsy but that Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, objected.
Blocking the autopsy violated Pakistani criminal law, and Minallah said that Bhutto's family couldn't have prevented an autopsy without a court order. Minallah said doctors at the hospital were "threatened," but he didn't elaborate on the nature of the threats. He described the medical personnel as
government servants who cannot speak.
He added:
There is a state within the state, and that state within the state does not want itself to be held accountable.
Minallah released the three-page medical report, signed by seven doctors, and issued an open letter today, apparently to distance hospital staff from the government's statements that Bhutto died after hitting her head on a sunroof lever.
A CNN
link to a PDF version of the medical report describes the patient as arriving at 5:35 p.m. local time. She was first seen by Dr. Aurangzeb Khan and a Dr. Saceda. Dr. Habib Ahmad Khan, the hospital's medical supervisor, arrived soon after that. The report continues:
The patient was pulseless and was not breathing. She was markedly pale. Her pupils were fixed, dilated and non reacting to light. A wound was present on the right temporoparietal region through which blood was trickling down and whitish material which looked like brain matter was visible in the wound. Her clothes were soaked with blood.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and intubation for ventilation ensued. External cardiac compression failed.
Dr. Arshad, an anesthetist, and Professor Mussadiq Khan joined the others in an operating room, where open cardiac massage was begun after a thoracotomy was performed. Bhutto was given IV fluids, including adrenaline, but no cardiac activity occurred. Electric defibrillation also failed to revive her. Professor Azam Yusuf and Dr. Qudsia joined the team. There was no evidence of cardiac or respiratory activity and an ECG showed no electrical activity. Finally, at 6:16 p.m., Bhutto was declared dead. Professor Arif Malik and Professor Saleem had also been contacted by then.
An x-ray made after her death showed an approximately 5 x 3 cm wound, in an irregular oval shape, above her left ear, but no cause for it was determined; that determination would have been made at the time of an autopsy.
Interviewed this afternoon by Wolf Blitzer on CNN, Bhutto's widower said:
It appears she was hit point-blank by a pistol.
From his statements, it appears that Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan, called Zardari to offer condolences, but Zardari would not accept the call.
Pakistan Police Blocked Bhutto Autopsy
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