The place was giving the same spine-chilling feel that everyone can sense in the eerie and biting cold environs of a morgue. However, even more hair-raising was the discovery of malpractices by the morgue staff.
It was the scene of the morgue just adjacent to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where male staff was performing autopsy on a female body brought in by the police -- a job that is supposed to be done by female doctors and paramedic staff.    
It has become a common practice that the male staffs in mortuaries of government run-hospitals in the city either conduct postmortem of women victims or remain present during the procedure in a clear violation of the Supreme Court’s directives.
The Supreme Court ruling on March 20, 1996, clearly states that autopsy of all women victims should be performed by lady doctors and no male member should be present during this process. After the ruling, the federal health ministry had issued directives to all provincial governments that in future all postmortems of women bodies should be performed by lady doctors. No male member should be allowed to be present during the process, and, if required, the skull should be got opened by Muslim male or female members of the paramedical staff.
However, it is of no surprise that Sindh health department – in keepings with its ‘splendid’ traditions -- is yet to comply with the directives of the apex court and the federal ministry. The postmortems on women bodies are still being conducted by male paramedical staff as unavailability of female staff for mortuaries is still an obstacle in implementing court ruling.
Similarly, in most cases, paramedics at the morgues are from Christian community, who either assist or perform the postmortem. The situation at the morgue of Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC), next to Sindh Medical College, is more critical as there is not even a single female staff to carry out the postmortem services.
According to former Police Surgeon of Karachi, Bashir Sheikh, six female Medico Legal Officers (MLOs) had been assigned to CHK, JPMC and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital with directions to ensure presence round the clock. In addition to this, lady MLOs were also deputed in six other hospitals under the control of Sindh health department, including Sindh Government Hospital (SGH) Saudabad, SGH Lyari, SGH Liaqatabad, SGH New Karachi and Sindh Government Qatar Hospital Orangi, but they, too, do not remain present in hospitals all the time. However, Mr. Sheikh did not explain who was responsible for carrying out autopsies of female victims in the absence of the female staffs.
According to sources in health department, lady MLOs are not willing to perform autopsy in the morgues, especially during night timings. This is the main reason that female postmortems are done by male MLOs in some cases.
Officials at the JPMC told Weekly Pulse that they did not have female staff to ensure compliance of the Supreme Court directives, while the number of female medico-legal officers was also insufficient. “We have no other options except to engage male doctors and staffs as lady MLOs are too scared to work in the morgue environment,” they added.
Besides the violation of the SC ruling, the situation in JPMC morgue is also alarming and pathetic otherwise due to absence of medico-legal facilities and forensic medicines to conduct autopsies. A succinct view of the morgue shows the insanitary conditions inside as well with stains of blood, bodily remains and unbearable stench.
When contacted for comments, a director of JPMC hospital said the provincial health department was responsible to administer the mortuary. “Nevertheless, the hospitals have asked Additional Police Surgeon Zulfiqar Sial to expedite efforts to get refrigeration system for the morgue,” he said. “The biggest problem for us is to keep the temperature of the place at a level suitable for the preservation of dead bodies, and for this purpose refrigeration system is a dire need,” he added.
Situation, nonetheless, in Civil Hospital Karachi mortuary, recently refurbished, is quite better as far as the facilities are concerned, but the male staff is also free to perform the autopsy on female bodies.
Admitting absence of female staff in mortuaries, Sindh Special Health Secretary Captain Abdul Majid said in the CHK mortuary, female paramedics were hired by the hospital for performing postmortem in the absence of female staff.
An additional secretary of the Health department revealed that a meeting was held with police surgeons of the hospitals and other stakeholders to overcome this problem. Measures are underway to resolve matters regarding female medical staff in the mortuaries, he added.
 It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan Medical Association, in a report on the present condition of health service in the country, said decision of the apex court, which states that postmortem of female dead bodies must be carried out only by female medical officers, needed immediate attention of the authorities concerned. Lady doctors, too, are unwilling to work in this department of the government hospitals.
The health experts are also apprehended over the condition of mortuaries in the hospitals of interior Sindh. If this is the situation in a city like Karachi then what would be the case at the hospitals in the less-developed districts, they observed and demanded that the government should take notice of the situation besides revamping the medico-legal departments of the hospitals.