Haven't quit politics, says Musharraf
Islamabad, June 23 : A day after resigning as the chairman of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), former President Pervez Musharraf said that he has not quit politics.
Musharraf, in a video message, said he had been planning to contest the upcoming general elections but wanted certain assurances, including that of not being arrested, the removal of lifetime disqualification and his name from the Exit Control List, Dawn online reported on Saturday.
The former military ruler, currently in self-exile in Dubai, sent his resignation to the Election Commission on Friday, days after he failed to return to Pakistan to appear before the Supreme Court in connection with a case related to his lifetime disqualification from electoral politics.
"If Khawaja Asif's lifetime disqualification can be overturned, why not mine." he said. "If Nawaz Sharif has the freedom to move in and outside the country, why can I not have it."
Musharraf said that since those assurances were not given, he knew he could not do anything for his party or for himself and therefore, after consultation with other APML leaders, he said he decided not to return to the country.
The former Army Chief, however, said that he would continue to support the party he founded. He added that his future plan of action would be announced as things unfold and assured his followers that things will take a turn for the better, the daily said
Musharraf also asked his party members to support its new chairman Mohammad Amjad and Mehreen Malik Adam, who has been elevated to the position of secretary general.
Amjad will direct all party affairs and decide the APML's role in the July 25 general elections.
The Supreme Court recently allowed Musharraf to conditionally file his nomination papers for the general elections and assured him that he would not be arrested until his appearance before the court, but he chose not to end his self-imposed exile.
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Jhansi fire: Nurse's heroic efforts helped save over dozen babies
Lucknow/Jhansi (UP), Nov 17: Nurse Megha James was on duty when the fire broke out at the Jhansi hospital and she threw herself headlong into the rescue efforts, playing a hero's role by saving several babies.
Even when her salwar got burned, she refused to give up and was able to evacuate 14-15 babies with others' help.
"I had gone to take a syringe to give an injection to a child. When I came back, I saw that the (oxygen) concentrator had caught fire. I called the ward boy, who came with the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. But by then, the fire had spread," James said.
Ten babies perished in a fire that broke out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi Friday night.
Faced with an enormous blaze, James's mind worked with a frenetic speed, to the extent she cared little about burning herself.
"My chappal caught fire and I burned my foot. Then my salwar caught fire. I removed my salwar and discarded it. At that time, my mind was virtually not working," she told PTI Videos.
James just wore another salwar and went back to the rescue operation.
"There was a lot of smoke, and once the lights went out, we could not see anything. The entire staff brought out at least 14-15 children. There were 11 beds in the ward with 23-24 babies," she said.
Had the lights not gone out they could have saved more children, James said. "It all happened very suddenly. None of us had expected it."
Assistant Nursing Superintendent Nalini Sood praised James's valour and recounted bits from how the rescue operation was carried out.
"The hospital staff broke the glasses of the NICU ward to evacuate the babies. It was then Nurse Megha's salwar caught fire. Instead of caring for her safety, she stayed there to rescue the babies and handed them over to people outside," she said.
Sood said James is currently undergoing treatment at the same medical college. She said she did not know the extent of her burns.
"The rescued babies were shifted to a ward very close to the NICU ward… When I recall the scene, I feel like crying," she said.
Dr Anshul Jain, the head of the anaesthesiology department at the medical college, explained the standard rescue operation and claimed the hospital followed the protocol to the T.
"In the triage process during an ICU evacuation, the policy is to evacuate less-affected patients first. The rationale behind this approach is that patients requiring minimal support can be relocated quickly, enabling a larger number of evacuations to be completed in a shorter time.
"In contrast, patients on ventilators or requiring high oxygen support demand more time and resources for evacuation," he said.
"This principle was successfully implemented in Jhansi, playing a significant role in saving many lives," Jain said.
A newborn rescued from the fire died due to illness on Sunday, Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said.
