Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sacked Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghori following a deadly fire at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), which claimed the lives of several newborn babies.
The prime minister expressed sharp displeasure during a high-level emergency meeting called specifically to address the tragedy. All relevant officials and heads of concerned institutions were summoned to the PM House to brief him on how the fire started and how it spread through the facility.
PIMS Hospital Fire Prompts Immediate Action
During the session, Shehbaz Sharif directed that Ghori be suspended and removed from his post with immediate effect. He also ordered the formation of a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the blaze.
Former interior secretary Shahid Khan has been appointed to lead this inquiry, with Establishment Secretary Dr. Barrister Naveel Awan named as one of the panel’s members.
Separately, the district administration has constituted its own eight-member committee to probe the incident, to be headed by an Additional Deputy Commissioner General. This panel is tasked specifically with determining the technical causes behind the PIMS hospital fire.
Its members include the Director General of Capital Emergency Services, the SP City, the Assistant Commissioner of Sector I-9, and the Director General of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). Representatives from IESCO and PIMS hospital administration have also been added to the committee. The panel is expected to submit its findings within 24 hours of completing its investigation.
Health Minister Vows Accountability
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said he has remained in constant contact with PIMS administration and other relevant authorities since the incident occurred. He stated that if negligence on anyone’s part caused the fire, those responsible will face consequences, adding that he too would accept accountability if any lapse on his end contributed to the tragedy.
The government has yet to release a detailed cause of the fire, and further updates are expected once the inquiry committees complete their reviews.