RAWALPINDI: The Chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party, Benazir Bhutto, died of an open head injury with multiple depressed skull fractures leading to cardiopulmonary arrest, said Principal of the Rawalpindi Medical College/Allied Hospitals Professor Dr Mohammad Mussadiq Khan while talking to The News on Friday after a press conference at the Rawalpindi General Hospital (RGH).
It is interesting to note that the father of Dr Mussadiq, Col Sadiq, was among the team of doctors that had received the body of Khan Liaquat Ali Khan at the CMH Rawalpindi in 1951. He was captain at that time.
Mussadiq categorically denied witnessing any other external wound on Benazir Bhutto’s body. “She had a wound on right temperoparietal region (just above the pin of right ear) measuring 5.4 cm in size that was bleeding and had depressed fracture of the skull,” he said and added X-Ray had revealed multiple depressed skull fractures with a 16 mm depressed segment.
Talking to media persons, he said that Benazir Bhutto was taken to Accident & Emergency Department of the RGH at 5:35 pm. She had no respiration, no pulse and had fixed dilated pupils not responding to light. It could be said that blood was not reaching her brain, he said.
The PPP chairperson was received by Senior Registrar at RGH Dr Aurangzeb along with Dr Saeeda, who immediately started resuscitation but after four to five minutes, on finding no success, Benazir Bhutto was shifted to emergency OT where Dr Mussadiq also joined the team of doctors.
Doctors continued resuscitation, including artificial ventilation, for another five minutes but could not succeed in reviving her.
By that time, Dr Qudsia, Professor Dr Azam Yousaf, Professor Dr Arif Malik and Professor Dr Saleem had also joined the team.
“The team performed left antrolateral thoracotomy for open cardiac massage. In spite of all the possible measures, she could not be revived and declared dead at 1816 hours,” Dr Mussadiq told The News. He added during the said 41 minutes, no cardiac activity was seen.
He said the skull was damaged at more than three points apparently showing it was hit by some heavy thing with force. No points of entry or exit of a bullet was found by the team of doctors. Dr Mussadiq said the wound was oval shaped with irregular edges. “Though we did not examine the wound with medico-legal point of view, however, it can be said that there was no sign of hitting by a bullet,” he added.
When asked why the post-mortem of the body was not performed, he said the law enforcement agencies had asked the team of doctors not to do so as Asif Ali Zardari did not want an autopsy.
The official report sent by the RGH to the Punjab government stated that Benazir Bhutto was received with open wound on her right temporal bone from which brain matter was exuding.