ISLAMABAD: Fourteen newborn babies died in a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Wednesday, prompting the suspension and removal of Federal Health Secretary Muhammad Aslam Ghauri and investigations into the hospital’s fire-safety arrangements, emergency response and administrative oversight.
The blaze erupted early in the morning in the third-floor nursery of the Mother and Child Hospital. According to PIMS spokesperson Dr Aneeza Jalil, 15 newborns were present in the nursery and only one was rescued alive.
Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal said the fire followed an explosion in an air-conditioning unit and spread rapidly because of oxygen present in the nursery. Other preliminary accounts referred to an electrical fault, leaving the precise cause to be established through investigation.
The newborns were receiving care in incubators or on oxygen support. Television footage showed rescue workers using ladders to reach broken windows, while grieving families gathered outside the hospital seeking information about their children.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired an emergency meeting and ordered the suspension and removal of Ghauri, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. The prime minister expressed anger over the incident and directed the secretary to leave the meeting.
Capt. (retd.) Muhammad Mahmood, a BS-21 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, was subsequently assigned additional charge as federal health secretary for three months or until a regular incumbent was appointed.
A high-level inquiry headed by former interior secretary Shahid Khan was constituted to investigate the tragedy. Separately, the Islamabad district administration formed a fact-finding committee to determine the cause of the fire, assess the availability and functionality of fire-safety measures, and evaluate rescue operations. The district committee was directed to submit its findings within 24 hours.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said rescue teams reached the hospital within six to seven minutes of being alerted. Authorities said six fire engines and four ambulances participated in the operation, while 19 people, including seven children, 10 women and two men, were rescued.
However, accounts from bereaved families raised questions about conditions inside the affected area. Parents interviewed by Reuters alleged that doors were shut, fire-safety arrangements were inadequate and medical personnel were absent. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal disputed allegations that doctors and staff were not present.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said two doctors, a nurse and other staff members were present. The conflicting accounts leave investigators to establish staffing, access arrangements and the sequence of rescue efforts through records and witness testimony.
Talal Chaudhry also acknowledged that fire-safety notices had previously been issued to PIMS, while saying the extent of compliance required investigation.
Former caretaker federal health minister Dr Nadeem Jan, speaking to Geo News, called for the tragedy to be examined as a systemic healthcare issue rather than an isolated incident. He advocated a judge-led investigation involving independent technical experts rather than existing stakeholders.
Dr Jan also called for greater healthcare investment and stronger primary-care services to reduce pressure on major hospitals such as PIMS.
Former PIMS executive director Dr Raja Amjad Mehmood told Geo News that the hospital had an emergency disaster plan. Citing information from a hospital official, he maintained that security personnel had used fire extinguishers, helping prevent the blaze from spreading further.
The reported existence of an emergency plan leaves a central question for the inquiry: how effectively was it implemented to protect newborns in the affected nursery?
Other unresolved questions concern whether smoke detectors, alarms and firefighting equipment were operational, when the nursery was last inspected, what deficiencies were documented and who was responsible for correcting them.
Investigators will also need to establish whether emergency exits were locked or obstructed and, if access restrictions were intended to protect infants, what arrangements allowed immediate evacuation during a fire.
Duty rosters, attendance records and available CCTV footage could help establish which personnel were present and what rescue actions were attempted. Whether staff had received practical training to evacuate babies dependent on incubators or oxygen support is another issue requiring examination.
The emergency timeline also remains important: when was the fire first detected, when was an internal alarm raised, when were rescue services called and when did firefighters reach the nursery? Establishing these intervals would help distinguish the response after an emergency call from any delay in detecting or reporting the fire.
Maintenance records for electrical wiring, air-conditioning equipment and the oxygen system, together with earlier inspection notices and compliance reports, could help determine whether identifiable risks had remained unresolved.
Separately, former Islamabad advocate general Jahangir Jadoon told Geo News that an independent judicial commission should investigate the hospital. He also called for a comprehensive audit, including equipment sourcing and medicine procurement.
Beyond the secretary’s removal, unresolved questions concern how responsibility will be examined across hospital management, maintenance services, regulatory bodies and the ministry, and whether the inquiry’s findings and corrective-action deadlines will be made public.
Dr Jan underscored the importance of an independent process, telling Geo News: “Because if stakeholders are part of the inquiry committee, transparency is compromised.”
