Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered a high-level inquiry into the devastating fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) nursery, while simultaneously removing the federal health secretary from his post. The decision follows a preliminary report detailing gross negligence in fire safety protocols at the hospital.
The blaze, which broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) earlier this week, sent shockwaves through the capital. Families scrambled to rescue infants as smoke filled the ward. While hospital staff managed to evacuate most of the patients, the incident exposed critical gaps in the facility’s infrastructure.
“The government will not tolerate the loss of innocent lives due to administrative incompetence,” the Prime Minister told officials during an emergency cabinet meeting. He directed a committee to finalize its findings within 48 hours, tasking them to identify specific individuals responsible for the lapses.
The removal of the health secretary signals a shift in the government’s approach to the crisis. Critics have long pointed to the crumbling state of public health facilities in Islamabad, arguing that outdated wiring and non-functional emergency exits are common across the city’s premier medical centers.
Hospital sources confirmed that the fire was likely sparked by a short circuit in the nursery’s electrical system. Despite previous warnings about the facility’s failing grid, no upgrades were authorized.
The inquiry committee, led by a senior official from the interior ministry, will now examine why safety audits were ignored. For the parents of the infants caught in the chaos, the inquiry is a small step, but it doesn’t mask the reality: the city’s primary hospital was a disaster waiting to happen.
The government has promised to overhaul safety standards at all federal hospitals. Whether this leads to actual reform or another bureaucratic paper trail remains the primary question for a public that has seen these promises made—and broken—before.
