PIMS Fire: PM Orders Suspension, Criminal Proceedings Against ED Sikander, Seven Others

Inquiry finds major fire-safety lapses, absent supervisory staff and delayed emergency response as government vows accountability over deaths of 14 newborns.

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday ordered the suspension of eight officials, including Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Executive Director Dr Rana Imran Sikander, and directed criminal proceedings against those held responsible for the neonatal ward fire that killed 14 infants.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the premier took the decision after an interim inquiry report revealed severe lapses in fire safety, emergency readiness, and hospital management.

Presiding over a high-level meeting on the tragedy, the prime minister directed that departmental as well as criminal proceedings be initiated against officials identified by the inquiry committee. He also approved action against the private security company deployed at PIMS and its relevant personnel.

The suspended officials include PIMS Executive Director Dr Rana Imran Sikander, Joint Executive Directors Dr Mutahir Shah and Dr Chaudhry Awais Ali Shah, Head of the Neonatal Department Prof Dr Sadia Riaz, Senior Registrar Dr Nagham, Dr Naushila Amjad, PIMS Assistant Director Security Mohammad Usman and Capital Development Authority (CDA) Emergency Services Director General Dr Abdulrehman.

The prime minister directed the immediate replacement of officials removed from their posts and appointed National Institutes of Health (NIH) Chief Executive Officer Dr Mohammad Salman as Acting Executive Director of PIMS.

Shehbaz Sharif ordered that the interim inquiry report be made public immediately and uploaded on the Ministry of National Health Services’ website. He also directed the inquiry committee, headed by former interior secretary Shahid Khan, to complete its investigation and submit a detailed final report. The interim report presented to the prime minister said the precise source of ignition had not yet been “conclusively established”.

It noted that questions requiring forensic, technical or documentary examination — including the exact ignition source, the contribution of specific deficiencies to the incident and the final determination of individual responsibility — had been left for the committee’s comprehensive report.

“The committee considers it important that uncertainty regarding the first spark should not prevent examination of the protective systems that should have prevented an initial fire from becoming a mass fatality event. The cause of ignition and the causes of the consequences are related but analytically distinct.”

However, the inquiry’s preliminary findings painted a disturbing picture of inadequate fire preparedness at the country’s major public-sector hospital. The committee found that PIMS had no detailed standard operating procedures or staff training specifically designed to deal with fires and other emergencies.

Of the hospital’s 13 SOPs, references to fire or emergency situations appeared in only two subsections, according to the briefing given to the prime minister. The neonatal ward also had neither a fire alarm nor a sprinkler system and was found to be in violation of relevant World Health Organisation requirements.

The report further revealed that no supervisory staff member was present in the ward when the fire broke out. Two nurses, a female security guard and a house officer were on duty at the time.

According to the inquiry briefing, the fire spread through the entire ward within approximately two minutes. An emergency services call was made six minutes after the fire started, while the first emergency response reached the site 15 minutes later.

The findings have raised serious questions about the hospital’s emergency response arrangements, particularly because the ward housed critically vulnerable newborns requiring intensive care and, in several cases, oxygen support.

The inquiry also noted that a fire had broken out at the PIMS nursing hostel in July, about a month before the neonatal ward tragedy. Despite that earlier incident, the hospital administration failed to take what the committee considered adequate safety measures.

Another major concern identified by the inquiry was the absence of a designated officer responsible for fire-related emergencies. Instead, an assistant director had been given the responsibility as an additional charge.

The committee also highlighted the dilapidated condition of parts of the hospital and broader administrative mismanagement, indicating that the tragedy could not be viewed solely as an isolated fire incident.

The CDA fire department had earlier reported that an emergency exit at the hospital was locked and alleged that security personnel obstructed the initial response of fire brigade teams. PIMS Executive Director Dr Imran Sikander, however, had denied that the exit was locked, saying one door had restricted access because of previous incidents involving child theft.

There have also been conflicting accounts over the emergency response time. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said rescue teams reached the hospital within six minutes of receiving the alert. Some eyewitnesses, however, gave different accounts of the response, prompting further scrutiny by the inquiry committee.

Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal had earlier said the fire may have started from a spark from an air conditioner at around 6:38am on August 26. He said 14 infants were on oxygen and that the availability of oxygen contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. He also said 26 fire extinguishers were used to control the blaze.

The inquiry committee reviewed CCTV footage of the incident, which showed the fire and evacuation process unfolding over approximately two minutes. It also recorded statements from hospital administrators, doctors, firefighters and rescue personnel to establish the sequence of events and determine responsibility.

Amid the tragedy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised nurse Razia Noreen for risking her life to rescue a newborn shortly before the fire spread through the ward. He approved the conferment of the Sitara-i-Khidmat award on her along with a cash reward of Rs1 million.

The prime minister also ordered that another nurse and a female security guard who were present in the ward be made Officers on Special Duty pending further investigation.

Shehbaz said there would be no leniency for those found responsible for criminal negligence and vowed exemplary punishment. He expressed condolences to the bereaved families, saying the loss of innocent children had left the entire nation grieving.

Earlier, Health Minister and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry visited PIMS and met families who lost their children. They conveyed the prime minister’s condolences and reviewed healthcare and administrative arrangements at the hospital.

Kamal later visited an affected family at their home in Rawalpindi and presented government assistance cheques worth Rs5 million to two families. He acknowledged that no financial assistance could compensate for the loss of their children, describing the payments as a gesture of support from the government.

The prime minister’s decision has now shifted the focus from immediate condolences to accountability, with the final inquiry expected to determine whether administrative failures, inadequate safety arrangements and weaknesses in emergency response contributed to the deaths of the 14 newborns.