New Delhi: Fourteen infants have died in a fire that swept through a maternity ward at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, one of Pakistan’s largest public hospitals, on Wednesday.
Hospital authorities have said an electrical fault involving an air-conditioning unit appeared to have started the blaze. Emergency responders rescued at least 19 people from the hospital, including women and children. The hospital has more than 150 beds in its maternity ward, according to its website. Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, underwent a brief medical checkup at the hospital Friday.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed “deep grief and sorrow” and ordered an immediate inquiry. He said the circumstances surrounding the deaths should be thoroughly examined and that those responsible should face the strictest possible action. Islamabad’s district administration has formed a fact-finding committee and ordered it to submit a report within 24 hours.
President Asif Ali Zardari also called for those responsible to be identified and for legal action to be taken. He said that hospitals should have effective fire-safety and emergency measures, particularly in areas for neonatal care.
The disaster has also led to criticism from the Opposition. Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) federal ministers Fawad Chaudhry and Shireen Mazari called for the resignation of Health Minister Mustafa Kamal, arguing that the government should accept responsibility for the deaths.
“The administration responsible for such a massive and tragic incident must face strict action; mere suspension and transfer will not suffice as punishment. The federal minister cannot be held blameless for this extremely painful incident!” Chaudhry wrote on X.
Pakistan has suffered a series of deadly fires in recent years, which officials and safety advocates have linked to inadequate fire precautions, weak enforcement of building regulations and poor emergency preparedness.
In January, a fire at the Gul Plaza shopping center in Karachi killed 67 people. In 2021, a factory fire in the same city killed 16 workers. And in 2012, nearly 300 workers died in a garment factory fire in Karachi, where inadequate exits left employees trapped inside.
Pakistan’s health care expenditure remains among the lowest in South Asia, according to the World Bank. After the government approved a new national budget in June, Pakistan’s largest doctors’ association ‘Pakistan Medical Association’, warned that the country’s health care infrastructure was in “a state of systemic collapse due to structural neglect”.
‘“PMA notes with grave concern that while the federal government’s newly announced Rs 53.3 billion allocation for the Ministry of National Health Services for the 2026–27 fiscal year continues to favour visible infrastructure projects, it critically underfunds the essential mechanisms needed to fight a silent, nationwide maternal and child nutrition crisis,” PMA Secretary General Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro had said.
(Edited by Vidhi Bhutra)
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