PTI Slams Sindh Govt Over HIV Infection of 78 Children

HIV Tragedy at Karachi Hospital Reflects Systemic Failure of Sindh Govt: PTI CIS

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram has strongly condemned the Sindh government's handling of the tragic HIV outbreak involving 78 children at Karachi's Kulsoom Bai Valika Hospital, describing it as a glaring example of criminal negligence, administrative failure, and the collapse of the province's public healthcare system.

In a statement issued by the PTI Central Media Department (CMD), Sheikh Waqas said the confirmation that 78 innocent children tested positive for HIV was irrefutable evidence of the Sindh government's gross incompetence and alleged medical negligence. He said these young lives had been endangered by systemic failures, while the provincial administration continued to issue hollow statements instead of accepting responsibility and ensuring accountability.

PTI CIS stated that this is by no means an isolated tragedy., as similar HIV cases among children have already surfaced in Tunsa, exposing deep and dangerous systemic flaws in Pakistan’s public health infrastructure that both federal and provincial governments have repeatedly chosen to ignore. “The recurring nature of such heartbreaking incidents is a damning indictment of official apathy and institutional failure at its peak,” he added.

PTI condemned this appalling tragedy in the strongest possible terms and demands an immediate, independent, transparent, and impartial investigation., demanding those responsible must be brought to justice without delay. Waqas asserted that mere scapegoating of low level staff will not suffice, as full accountability must be enforced against all senior officials, bureaucrats, and political officeholders whose negligence, poor oversight, and mismanagement allowed this disaster to unfold.

“This is the same Sindh government whose Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, once boasted with great pride that a time would come when people from abroad would flock to Sindh for medical treatment,” he added.

PTI CIS noted that the bitter reality today is that Sindh’s own citizens especially its innocent children are not even safe inside government hospitals. He went on to say that when contaminated syringes and gross violations of basic safety protocols are destroying young lives, such lofty claims amount to nothing less than rubbing salt into the wounds of the suffering public a cruel mockery of their pain.

PTI CIS made it clear that the PPP in Sindh and the PML N at the centre and in Punjab are partners in the same coalition arrangement. Therefore, he said that the continuous failures and tragedies in the public health sector rest equally and jointly on the shoulders of both parties. “Whether it is the horrific incident in Karachi or the HIV cases in Tunsa, both governments have miserably and shamefully failed to provide safe and reliable medical facilities to the people,” he maintained. Instead of shifting blame onto each other, Waqas noted that they must now collectively answer for their shared governmental incompetence.

PTI CIS said that for years, the health sector in Sindh has been ravaged by corruption, political interference, patronage based appointments, poor oversight, and chronic mismanagement. Despite billions in budgets and tall proclamations, government hospitals cannot even uphold the most elementary standards of sterilization and infection control. “This incident is not merely about one hospital but constitutes a grave indictment of Sindh’s entire health system, as similar failures elsewhere in the country further demonstrate that public health remains far from a governmental priority,” he added.

PTI demands that all affected children and their families receive immediate free treatment, adequate financial assistance, counselling, and every possible support. Furthermore, he pressed that an emergency audit of all public and private hospitals across Sindh, Punjab, and the rest of the country must be conducted without delay. A comprehensive review of syringe usage, medical equipment protocols, and infection control systems is essential, along with the implementation of a strict, effective, and transparent monitoring mechanism so that no innocent child ever again becomes a victim of such criminal negligence.