The tragic fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) came under scrutiny in the Senate on Friday, as lawmakers called for a time-bound parliamentary inquiry to fix responsibility and examine the hospital’s emergency exits, rescue response, fire-safety arrangements and earlier warnings about potential hazards.
Senate seeks time-bound probe into PIMS fire tragedy
ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (APP): The tragic fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) came under scrutiny in the Senate on Friday, as lawmakers called for a time-bound parliamentary inquiry to fix responsibility and examine the hospital’s emergency exits, rescue response, fire-safety arrangements and earlier warnings about potential hazards.
Soon after the proceedings commenced, the Leader of the Opposition sought suspension of the Question Hour to allow the House to discuss the tragic incident at PIMS.
Sherry Rehman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) moved an adjournment motion to discuss this tragic incident.
She said that members across the House were deeply saddened by the loss of lives and the matter required the Senate’s immediate attention.
She proposed formation of a House committee to investigate the incident within a fixed timeframe of around 40 days, saying the exercise should lead to accountability and concrete measures rather than another report that was eventually shelved.
She said the committee should examine critical questions, including whether emergency exit gates were open, how long rescue teams took to respond, whether the hospital possessed the required fire NOC and why earlier warnings about deficiencies in its fire-safety system were not acted upon.
Sherry Rehman said claims regarding the emergency exits needed to be independently verified, maintaining that questions remained over whether the gates were accessible when they were most needed.
She also called for examination of previous fire-related incidents and reports at the hospital, questioning what action had been taken on earlier findings and recommendations.
She said the tragedy should not be treated as a government-versus-opposition issue, stressing that parliamentarians were public servants and collectively responsible for ensuring accountability.
She acknowledged that Pakistan’s public hospitals were under tremendous pressure but argued that the immediate issue at PIMS was one of governance rather than merely shortage of funds.
Sherry Rehman said PIMS catered not only to Islamabad but also received large numbers of patients from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Rawalpindi.
Taking part in the debate Pakistan Muslim League Senator Pervaiz Rashid proposed a structural solution and called for legislation requiring every person drawing a salary from taxpayers’ money to receive medical treatment at public-sector hospitals.
Pervaiz Rashid suggested extending the principle to other public services, saying government-paid officials should use public transport for official travel and their children should study in public-sector educational institutions.
He said those responsible for the PIMS tragedy must be punished, but accountability alone would not prevent recurrence unless systemic weaknesses were addressed through lasting reforms.
Ali Zafar of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) expressed concern over what he described as inadequate allocation for the health sector and proposed a bipartisan parliamentary committee comprising 50 per cent government and 50 per cent opposition members.
He said the proposed committee should investigate the PIMS incident and formulate standard operating procedures (SOPs) for hospitals to strengthen safety arrangements and prevent similar tragedies in future.
Saadia Abbasi of PML-N termed the suspension of the Health Secretary insufficient and demanded that PIMS Executive Director also be suspended to ensure an impartial determination of responsibility.
She strongly criticised the hospital administration over the loss of children’s lives and said serious complaints concerning management and availability of facilities could not be ignored. She called for fixing responsibility rather than limiting action to one official.
Jan Muhammad of National Party called for a judicial inquiry into the tragedy and demanded that those responsible be brought to justice.
He said the incident had exposed serious weaknesses in the management of public hospitals, questioning the condition of healthcare facilities elsewhere in the country if such a tragedy could occur at a major federal hospital in Islamabad.
Falak Naz of PTI expressed serious reservations over the incident and said she and a fellow senator had not been allowed to visit the relevant area at the hospital.
Taking part in the debate, Senator Atta-ur-Rehman of JUI-F expressed deep grief over the loss of lives and termed the incident a failure of the hospital administration.
He particularly referred to the ordeal of a couple who, he said, had been blessed with a child after 11 years but lost the baby in the tragedy.
Khalida Ateeb called for fixing responsibility and said lessons should have been learnt from previous healthcare tragedies to prevent recurrence of negligence.
She raised serious questions over emergency arrangements at the neonatal care facility and said the inquiry should determine why access to the ward was allegedly locked and why valuable time was lost in locating the key during the emergency.
Referring to an earlier incident in Sindh in which around 100 children contracted HIV/AIDS following repeated use of syringes, Khalida Ateeb questioned whether adequate corrective measures and accountability had followed the episode.
Dilawar Khan held the PIMS Executive Director responsible for the administrative failure, saying the Health Minister should not be blamed for responsibilities that directly rested with the hospital management.
He called for reforms in the governance structure of PIMS, saying medical and administrative functions should be clearly separated. Specialist doctors, he said, should concentrate on clinical responsibilities while competent professionals should manage administrative affairs.
Leader of the Opposition Nasir Abbas demanded immediate removal of PIMS Executive Director and said that an impartial and transparent investigation could not be conducted while he remained in office.
He alleged that the Executive Director was highly influential and questioned how officials working under the existing hospital administration could independently investigate the incident while its head continued to hold office.
The opposition leader termed the deaths of the newborn children more than mere negligence and said responsibility must be fixed on all those whose actions or failures had contributed to the loss of innocent lives.
He particularly referred to the ordeal of a couple who, he said, had been blessed with a child after 11 years but lost the baby in the tragedy.
Khalida Ateeb called for fixing responsibility and said lessons should have been learnt from previous healthcare tragedies to prevent recurrence of negligence.
She raised serious questions over emergency arrangements at the neonatal care facility and said the inquiry should determine why access to the ward was allegedly locked and why valuable time was lost in locating the key during the emergency.
Referring to an earlier incident in Sindh in which around 100 children contracted HIV/AIDS following repeated use of syringes, Khalida Ateeb questioned whether adequate corrective measures and accountability had followed the episode.
Dilawar Khan held the PIMS Executive Director responsible for the administrative failure, saying the Health Minister should not be blamed for responsibilities that directly rested with the hospital management.
He called for reforms in the governance structure of PIMS, saying medical and administrative functions should be clearly separated. Specialist doctors, he said, should concentrate on clinical responsibilities while competent professionals should manage administrative affairs.
Leader of the Opposition Nasir Abbas demanded immediate removal of PIMS Executive Director and said that an impartial and transparent investigation could not be conducted while he remained in office.
He alleged that the Executive Director was highly influential and questioned how officials working under the existing hospital administration could independently investigate the incident while its head continued to hold office.
The opposition leader termed the deaths of the newborn children more than mere negligence and said responsibility must be fixed on all those whose actions or failures had contributed to the loss of innocent lives.
Taking part in the debate, Abid Sher Ali of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz called for setting up a Committee of the Whole of the Senate to examine the PIMS tragedy, as lawmakers sought an impartial investigation, public release of its findings and concrete reforms to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
He termed the deaths of 14 children a tragedy for the entire nation and said the matter should rise above party politics.
He said merely citing child mortality figures or acknowledging weaknesses in the healthcare system was not enough. He called for concrete proposals and effective measures to address shortcomings in public hospitals.
He said that healthcare challenges extended across the country and required coordination between the federal and provincial governments.
Taking part in the debate, Naseema Ehsan prayed for the departed children and patience for their families and called for an impartial investigation into the tragedy, with its findings made public.
She said all institutions responsible for emergency response, including fire and ambulance services, should be examined to determine whether they were adequately prepared to respond to the emergency.
Referring to initial reports of an electrical short circuit, she said the investigation should determine whether the incident resulted from overloading, old wiring, inadequate maintenance or any other negligence.
She observed that inquiry committees were often constituted following major incidents but their reports subsequently disappeared from public view. She demanded that the findings in the PIMS tragedy be made public so that people could know what went wrong and who was responsible.
Shahadat Awan also called for a thorough investigation into conflicting accounts surrounding the fire, including its origin, functioning of the fire-safety system, response time of Rescue 1122, availability of staff and accessibility of emergency exits.
He said the inquiry should determine whether an alternative exit was available and, if so, why it was allegedly locked or chained. He also sought examination of obstacles that reportedly hindered access of ambulances and fire-fighting vehicles to the affected area.
Bilal Ahmed Khan said the country needed to move from post-tragedy reactions towards emergency preparedness. He questioned whether people in hospitals, educational institutions and even Parliament House knew how to respond to a fire, earthquake or other emergency.
He called for revival and strengthening of emergency-response training for citizens, recalling the role once performed by Civil Defence in preparing people to deal with emergencies.
Afnan Ullah Khan criticised the opposition for linking every issue with the PTI founder, saying the PTI founder’s release could not be presented as a solution to every problem.
He questioned the opposition’s performance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where he said it had remained in government for around 13 years, and raised questions over the condition of public hospitals there.
Afnan Ullah termed the PIMS incident extremely tragic and said investigations were underway and the government was taking the matter seriously.
Abdul Qadir said the inquiry committee constituted by the PM should complete its work and those found responsible in its report should face strict punishment.
He said governments and ministers changed while officials remained in the system for decades, making institutional accountability and improvement of administrative culture essential for sustainable reform.
Azam Khan Swati called for fixing responsibility for the tragedy and supported a Senate probe. He demanded removal of the PIMS Executive Director, saying that if action could not be taken against such a powerful official, the Health Minister should consider stepping aside until the matter was addressed.
Faisal Javed termed the deaths of 14 innocent children a “national tragedy” and called for an independent and transparent investigation. He said the inquiry should examine fire-safety arrangements, emergency response and relevant approvals and identify those responsible rather than allowing the matter to end with mere statements.
Khurram Zeeshan, while appreciating the Health Minister’s efforts, said the magnitude of the tragedy also raised the question of ministerial responsibility. He called for taking the matter beyond politics and urged participation in the proposed parliamentary investigation to reach the root causes of the incident.
Senators Mashal Azam, Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan, Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur also took part in the debate and demanded to fix responsibility in this regard.
Meanwhile, responding to a point raised in the House, Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal said his reference to around 400,000 preventable child deaths annually was intended to highlight the gravity of Pakistan’s health crisis and not to downplay the PIMS tragedy.
He said health was a devolved subject and maintained that during his 14 months in office he had maintained close coordination with health ministers of all four provinces through meetings and conferences.
Kamal said political parties represented in the Senate were also governing different provinces and improving healthcare was therefore a collective responsibility.
He said he was ready to present a detailed account of his ministry’s performance before the House and stressed that acknowledging the realities of the healthcare system was essential to prevent further tragedies. Later, the House was prorogued sine die.
