ISLAMABAD – Islamabad’s PIMS hospital witnessed horrific fire incident that took lives of 14 newborns. The incident also prompted stern resposnse from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri has been removed amid investigations.
The fire erupted early morning on Wednesday in Nursery of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, turning a hospital emergency into one of the country’s most heartbreaking tragedies.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting to review the incident and expressed severe displeasure over what he described as negligence by the officials concerned. PM ordered Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri’s removal, while directing authorities to establish responsibility for the deaths.
A high-level inquiry committee has also been constituted under the leadership of former interior secretary Shahid Khan. Establishment Secretary Dr Nabil Awar and other officials will serve on the committee.
The government’s action came as disturbing details of the victims emerged from PIMS records. According to hospital documents, 14 newborns died in the blaze while one baby was rescued. The deceased included the newborns of Javeria, whose father was Samiullah; Alia, whose father was Rashid; and Anisa, whose father was Abdullah.
The tragedy also claimed the lives of both newborn twins of Asia Bibi, daughter of Bahadur. The hospital records further named the newborns of Shakila, daughter of Muhammad Tanveer; Sidra, daughter of Imran; and Sunbal, daughter of Usman among the victims. The newborn of Kiran Fatima, whose father was Muhammad Saad-ur-Rehman, also died.
Other victims included the newborns of Amina, whose father was Khurram; Maria, whose father was Qayyum; Khizra, whose father was Mudassar; and Hafsa, whose father was Ishtiaq. The 14th deceased infant was the newborn of Aroosa Saeed, whose father was identified as Idris Khan. One newborn survived the catastrophe. PIMS identified the rescued baby as the child of Asifa, daughter of Waqas.
The Islamabad Capital Territory administration has separately formed a fact-finding committee to determine exactly what happened inside the nursery. The committee will investigate the cause of the fire, the reasons behind its spread and any factors that may have intensified the disaster.
The body will be headed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), ICT, who will serve as its convener. Its members include the Director General of Capital Emergency Services, CDA; Superintendent of Police (City), Islamabad; Assistant Commissioner (Industrial Area), Islamabad; Director General E&M, CDA; and representatives of IESCO and PIMS.
Investigators have been specifically directed to determine whether the nursery had adequate and operational fire-safety arrangements at the time of the incident. The committee will also examine how quickly emergency teams responded and whether rescue and firefighting operations were effective once the fire broke out.
Any other matter considered relevant to the tragedy can also be included in the investigation. ICT administration has imposed a tight deadline, ordering the fact-finding committee to submit its report within 24 hours.
With the deaths of 14 newborns now under investigation, questions are mounting over hospital safety standards, emergency preparedness and the actions of officials responsible for protecting patients in one of Islamabad’s major public hospitals.
At least 15 children die in fire at Islamabad’s PIMS Hospital
