Karachi: Proceedings over HIV infections among children at the Sindh High Court turned chaotic on Tuesday as affected families and their counsel protested over an alleged lack of treatment and financial support, prompting the judges to leave the courtroom for their chamber amid shouting and commotion.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Junior, who appeared in solidarity with the affected families, claimed that children accounted for around 12 per cent of people living with HIV in Sindh and that children had also contracted the infection in cases linked to Valika Hospital.
“I have come here in solidarity with these children and their families,” he said, adding that he would continue supporting them.
According to Zulfiqar Junior, around 1,000 children were affected by HIV in Larkana between 2008 and 2019, while another 72 children had been affected this year. He also claimed that a significant number of cases involving children were emerging at Landhi Hospital.
He expressed serious concern over children allegedly contracting HIV after visiting healthcare facilities for relatively minor illnesses and called for an investigation, accountability and support for the affected families.
“What kind of country is this that can bring Iran and the United States to the table but cannot provide syringes to its own people?” he remarked while criticising shortcomings in the healthcare system.
Zulfiqar Junior also claimed that some HIV-positive children were being removed from schools, saying the affected families were facing social discrimination in addition to the medical and financial consequences of the infection.
A father of an affected child told the court that families had been forced to borrow money on interest to pay for their children’s treatment.
“We have even sold our charpoys to pay for our children’s treatment, but we have not received even a single rupee in assistance,” he said.
The atmosphere in the courtroom became tense when counsel for the petitioners, Tariq Mansoor, and members of the affected families protested loudly over their plight.
“These people may end up taking their own lives. What will you answer to Allah?” Mansoor told the judges during the heated proceedings.
Amid shouting and commotion in the courtroom, the judges rose from the bench and went to their chamber.
The affected families are seeking treatment, financial assistance and protection for their children. Their allegations regarding HIV transmission at healthcare facilities, lack of financial assistance and removal of HIV-positive children from schools could not immediately be independently verified, while a response from the relevant health authorities was not immediately available.
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