Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the suspension of eight officials on Saturday, August 29, 2026 and directed criminal proceedings against those found responsible for a fire that killed 14 newborns at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, his office said.
The fire broke out the previous Wednesday in a third-floor nursery and spread so quickly that staff rescued only one of the 15 babies being cared for there. An interim report by a committee headed by retired civil servant Shahid Khan found that the nursery had no fire alarm or sprinkler system, that the hospital lacked detailed fire and emergency procedures and training, and that supervisory staff weren’t on duty when the fire began.
The suspended officials include the hospital’s executive director, two joint executive directors, the head of the neonatal department, two doctors, the assistant director for security and the head of the Capital Development Authority’s emergency services. Sharif also approved action against a security company and its officials. Each bereaved family was promised 5 million rupees (about $18,000). The head of the National Institutes of Health was named PIMS’s acting director in the meantime.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Qatar Tribune.
