Dr. Anwar’s temporary clinic is located a short distance from the main protest site in the town of Rawalakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
An additional bedroom serves as a wardrobe for medical supplies, and outside is a bed covered with a red tarpaulin.
Shafqat Hussain lies on the bed. He has been shot in the chest. The sheet he lies on is already soaked with the blood of those injured. He is dying.
‘Seen very few patients over the age of 40’
Elections are currently being held in this area with a population of 45 lakh.
The names of the people we spoke to for this report, including Dr. Anwar, have been changed to protect their identities.
“We have the equipment to provide first aid. We can stop bleeding, clean and bandage wounds, and remove bullets that are less deeply embedded in the body. But people with serious injuries to the chest, stomach, head, or other vital organs need treatment at a larger hospital,” he told the BBC.
Anwar further says, “If so many patients come at the same time, even big hospitals will face problems.”
The doctor says that since July 27, the clinic has treated about 50 to 60 seriously injured patients, and he himself has treated 15 to 20 people with gunshot wounds.
Protesters are afraid to go to the main hospital because they fear they will be arrested or shot, a claim denied by authorities.
“Most of those who have died or been seriously injured are young people, aged between 15-16 and 32-35,” says Dr Anwar. “I have seen very few patients over 40.”