RIYADH, 4 November 2007 — A female student from the Pakistan International School, Riyadh (PISR), who was hospitalized after allegedly being assaulted by two teachers last month, is now stranded in a hospital because of the nonpayment of her hospital bill by her school.
Safia Asif has been in hospital for the last 36 days and is currently awaiting discharge, said Imran Ali, Safia’s brother-in-law.
“Even with her possible discharge from hospital within the next few days, Safia, according to doctors, will complete only the first step in her long journey toward recovery,” said Ali.
“Hence, we make a renewed call to the Saudi officials to arrest Maimoona Ahmed and her accomplices for assaulting her,” said Dawood Amjad, a family friend.
“The PISR Principal Zahoorul Hassan is buying time; he did not settle the hospital bill as promised earlier and hence Safia was not released yesterday,” said Ali.
But, Muhammad Asad, chairman of the PISR board of directors, told Arab News that the school is ready to render all possible financial help to Safia.
“We will pay the bill to get Safia released,” said PISR chairman, claiming that the parents of the girl are not in touch with school officials.
“The new hospital bill has surfaced because of the readmission of Safia, who was once released before after the school settled the bill,” said Asad.
A major part of the bill has already been waived by the hospital. Referring to the problems faced by the family in rehabilitating the girl, Asif Javed, the girl’s father, said, “We are facing many challenges... Although, the inpatient treatment is over, we still have to make a lot of rehabilitation efforts.”
Another family friend, on condition of anonymity, said, “In fact, we don’t consider her to be completely cured, but prolonged stay in the hospital and the continued treatment have eliminated all detectable evidence of massive fractures and infection.”
The family friend said he did not want his name published fearing backlash from quarters supporting the teachers.
Javed, a watchmaker from Karachi, added that his daughter is still ill. Parents and relatives of Safia have reiterated their calls to Saudi and Pakistani officials to ensure justice. Safia has seven sisters and a brother.
The PISR is the largest overseas Pakistani school in the Middle East with a cumulative enrollment of over 8,000 students. Safia’s supporters have called on the Riyadh governorate, local human rights groups and the Ministry of Education to look into the case.
