PIMS fire kills 14 babies, Senate questions delay in FIR

Islamabad: The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services directed that an FIR be registered against officers found responsible for the PIMS children’s ward fire in which 14 newborn babies died, while raising serious questions over why no FIR had been registered despite earlier directions for action.

The matter came up for discussion during a committee meeting chaired by Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti at Parliament House.

The committee was told that 14 babies died while one baby was rescued in the incident. Members expressed concern over the delay in starting the formal police process and questioned why the PIMS administration and Ministry of National Health Services had not directly approached the concerned police station.

Ministry officials told the committee that a letter had been sent to the Ministry of Interior seeking registration of an FIR. The committee, however, said the hospital administration and Health Ministry should themselves approach the police because the incident occurred at PIMS.

The committee also questioned how the bodies of the 14 babies were identified before being handed over to their parents. PIMS officials said the babies were identified through identification bands and that the bodies were handed over to the respective parents.

Senator Syed Masroor Ahsan asked whether DNA testing had been carried out between the babies and their parents before the bodies were handed over.

The committee raised concern over the explanation that the identification bands and written names remained intact after the fire and directed that the matter be examined further. It also recommended placing the names of officers found responsible on the Exit Control List according to the relevant procedure.

Officials also informed the committee that the earlier inquiry process had identified actions relating to a third party security company and a PIMS monitoring committee. The security company had already been issued a show cause notice and given seven days to respond, while questions were also raised about the monitoring arrangements at the hospital.

The committee was told that the Prime Minister had directed action against the concerned officials on August 29. Members questioned why an FIR had still not been registered.

Officials responded that the ministry had started the process and had written to the Ministry of Interior, with reminders also sent, but no response had been received at the time of the meeting.

The committee also sought further records and a detailed report so that the circumstances surrounding the fire, identification of the babies and actions taken afterwards could be examined.

The Senate committee will continue to monitor the matter and seek compliance with its directions regarding the FIR and the inquiry into the incident.