ISLAMABAD: Newborns who died in a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences died from inhaling smoke and soot rather than from burns, PIMS Executive Director Rana Imran Sikandar said Friday.
Sikandar said the identities of the deceased infants were confirmed through identification tags on their wrists. He said the tags remained intact, making DNA testing unnecessary. DNA tests would have been required if the bodies had been unidentifiable, he said.
According to PIMS officials, 15 newborns were in the nursery when the fire broke out, while one infant was rescued. Hospital staff attempted to enter the nursery to save the babies, but the ceiling collapsed after an explosion, officials said.
Some relatives had expressed concerns over the identification of the deceased infants without DNA testing.
A day earlier, Dr. Shazia Sobia, a member of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Health, said she learned during a visit to PIMS that 40 to 50 babies, rather than 15, may have been present in the nursery. She questioned how the infants were handed over to their families without DNA testing.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s National Assembly and Senate have called for a transparent investigation into the deaths of 14 newborns in a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, approving motions to form special parliamentary committees to investigate the incident.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal assured lawmakers that no one responsible for the tragedy would be spared. He said all relevant officials would be held accountable and urged lawmakers not to intervene to protect officials facing disciplinary action.
Kamal also called on the opposition to provide guidance and a clear roadmap rather than limiting the response to dates and committee formations. He said practical solutions were needed to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said an investigation committee would submit its initial report to the prime minister on Friday, while a detailed report would be prepared within seven days. He said necessary action would be taken after the findings and urged lawmakers to offer concrete recommendations instead of politicizing the tragedy.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sen. Pervez Rashid proposed that senior government officials receive medical treatment at public hospitals. He said forming inquiry committees and issuing punishments alone would not improve the health care system.
Instead, he suggested that everyone drawing a government salary, including the president, prime minister, bureaucracy and judiciary, should use public hospitals to encourage improvements in those facilities.
Former National Assembly speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf said innocent children had died because of possible negligence and demanded that the facts be made public.
The opposition expressed a lack of confidence in the government’s committee investigating the PIMS incident. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Sen. Ali Zafar called for an inquiry committee headed by the opposition and demanded punishment for those responsible.
Senate opposition leader Raja Nasir Abbas described the PIMS incident as “murder” rather than negligence and alleged that the victims’ parents had been pressured. He called for accountability and a full disclosure of the facts surrounding the deaths.