NA members demand transparent, scientific probe into PIMS fire tragedy

ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (APP): Members of the National Assembly on Friday called for a transparent and scientific investigation into the tragic fire incident at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), which claimed the lives of 14 newborn babies, and demanded that those found responsible for negligence be held accountable.

Taking part in the discussion in the National Assembly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan called for a high-level and impartial inquiry into the PIMS fire incident, stressing that the inquiry report should be made public.

Gohar Ali Khan said the deaths of innocent newborn babies in the incident were a serious matter that required detailed discussion and investigation.

He said the incident was not the first tragedy of its kind in Pakistan, adding that Parliament and the government should work together to ensure that such an incident never occurred again.

He stressed the need for strict implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and regulations, particularly in hospitals.

Referring to the PIMS fire tragedy, he said,  it appeared that several safety regulations and procedures had been violated.

He also recalled the Gul Plaza fire in Karachi, where several families lost their businesses and lives. He said the judicial commission constituted after the incident had found that not even a single rule or regulation had been properly implemented.

He said a similar situation appeared to have occurred at PIMS, where newborn babies were allegedly left unattended.

He said doctors and nurses were not present at the relevant place when the incident occurred, while some doors had also been locked.

He questioned the absence of an adequate fire alarm system that could alert people in time in case of a fire.

Gohar Ali Khan said the families who lost their children in the tragedy should be compensated by the government.

He said governments existed for such purposes and should extend financial support to affected families whenever such tragedies occurred.

He stressed that merely conducting another inquiry would not be enough, as several inquiries into similar incidents had already been conducted in the past.

Gohar Ali Khan urged the House to ensure that the PIMS incident was investigated through a high-level and impartial inquiry.

He also called for the inquiry report to be made public and demanded strict implementation of its recommendations.

He stressed that effective measures should be taken to ensure that such tragic incidents did not occur again. MNA Aliya Kamran said she had visited the site along with other parliamentarians and witnessed the tragic situation firsthand.

She expressed sympathy with the bereaved families and stressed the need to take concrete measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

Aliya Kamran said safety audits and fire-safety arrangements in government and private buildings in Islamabad had been raised in the House several times, but the issues had not been properly addressed.

She questioned the effectiveness of parliamentary oversight, saying that lawmakers were often given assurances that everything was in order, but subsequent follow-up and detailed reports were rarely provided.

She also expressed concern that members of the committee had not been provided with the CCTV footage they had requested.

The lawmaker urged that the inquiry into the PIMS incident should not be limited to statements of officials and witnesses, but should employ scientific methods and examine all available evidence, including forensic and technical evidence.

MNA Sehar Kamran, while expressing deep grief over the deaths, said no words could adequately represent the pain of mothers who had carried their children for nine months only to receive their remains after the tragedy.

She questioned who was responsible for ensuring that the firefighting system was functional, sprinklers were installed in the children’s ward, and emergency exits and doors remained accessible.

She said the incident raised serious questions about safety arrangements at hospitals and recalled that a similar tragedy had occurred at a teaching hospital in Sahiwal in 2024, where 11 children reportedly died in a fire.

MNA Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani said the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health Services had visited the site shortly after the incident and held discussions with doctors and other hospital staff.

He said different explanations had emerged regarding the possible source of the fire, but the committee had so far been unable to establish its exact origin.

Dr Malani said the committee was told that a spark from an air-conditioning unit could have caused the fire, but the hospital administration had also stated that the air-conditioner was not functioning.

He said another possibility involving an oxygen-related source had also been discussed, but the available information and CCTV footage had not conclusively established the cause.

He pointed out that the affected building was an old block constructed in the 1990s, stressing the need for a comprehensive review of its safety arrangements.

MNA Syed Agha Rafiullah called for strict action against those responsible for negligence and urged the government to examine issues of prolonged postings and alleged nepotism within public institutions.

He said institutional weaknesses could not be allowed to continue at the cost of human lives and called for measures to restore accountability and efficiency in public hospitals.

MNA Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto also expressed condolences to the bereaved families and said the tragedy could potentially have been prevented if proper safety arrangements had been in place.

Referring to an initial report, she said it had reportedly identified deficiencies in fire-safety arrangements, including emergency exits being locked and shortcomings involving security and hospital safety measures. She called for an impartial inquiry into the incident.

She urged the government to take appropriate administrative measures to ensure an independent investigation and stressed that recommendations emerging from the inquiry must be implemented in letter and spirit to prevent such tragedies in future.

Former Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser criticised the government over the tragic fire incident at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), saying the entire nation was mourning the deaths of newborn babies.

Asad Qaiser said he had no words to describe the pain being suffered by the parents, particularly the mothers, who lost their children in the incident.

He said it was even more unfortunate that the incident occurred at a hospital located in the heart of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.He said the issue should not be used merely for political point-scoring, adding that he was speaking from the heart and genuinely felt the pain of the affected families.