Civil society holds vigil outside PIMS, demands accountability over deaths of 14 newborns

By Bushra Nazeer

ISLAMABAD: Civil society members on Thursday gathered outside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to hold a protest and vigil over the deaths of 14 newborns in a fire at the Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) nursery, demanding accountability for the tragedy.

Organised by Child Rights Movement Chairman Ishtiaq Gilani, the gathering was attended by civil society members who expressed solidarity with the bereaved families and paid tribute to the newborns who died after a fire broke out in the MCH nursery on August 26.

A large contingent of security personnel was deployed outside PIMS who prevented the protesters from entering the hospital premises.

Human rights activist and Chairperson of the Peace and Culture Organisation Mushaal Hussein Mullick was also stopped at the gate as she arrived to join the protest.

Speaking to the media, Pakistan People’s Party Islamabad chapter Vice President Sadia Hayat Khan said that she had attended the protest purely on humanitarian grounds and rejected any attempt to portray her presence as political.

“My stance and point of view here is purely out of humanity. I have not come here to play any political game or make political claims,” she said.

Khan condemned the deaths and questioned the functioning of the hospital, saying the tragedy reflected failures not only within the medical facility but also in its administrative and security systems.

She also criticised the government over frequent changes in the health administration, questioning what had been achieved despite changes in health secretaries.

“Instead of incubators, children were sent to graves,” she said.

Drawing a comparison with the Army Public School (APS) tragedy, the PPP leader said that although the circumstances were different, the suffering of the families was equally devastating.

“In APS, the attackers were our enemies. Here, our own people are acting as enemies to our own people,” she said.

Khan said the parents, particularly mothers, were facing severe mental and physical trauma following the deaths of their newborn children.

“Fourteen newborn babies didn’t just pass away naturally — they were made to pass away due to a lack of accountability,” she alleged.

She demanded answers from the authorities, saying the incident should not be allowed to fade from public memory without those responsible being held accountable.

“There should be answers from this system because every second here, mothers and children are dying and no one even notices. It took a fire to wake us up,” she said.

Civil society member Farhad Jarral also expressed deep anguish over the incident, questioning how such a tragedy could occur when senior government officials themselves had acknowledged shortcomings in the system.

“I am shattered. I am devastated. I have no words for the system,” Jarral said while speaking to the media.

Referring to remarks made by the interior minister earlier that the system had collapsed, Jarral questioned what could be expected from such a system following the deaths of 14 newborns.

“When the most important person in the system is saying this, after that, when 14 children pass away like this, what will a collapsed system do?” he asked.

Jarral also criticised the government’s response to the tragedy, questioning the decision to remove a health secretary for a limited period while, according to him, the executive head of PIMS remained in office.

“The prime minister simply removes a secretary for 120 days, when the primary responsible party — the culprit — the Executive Director of PIMS, is still there,” he alleged.

He questioned why accountability had not extended to those running the hospital and said it was “extremely shameful” that the deaths of 14 newborns had not resulted in wider action against those responsible.

Jarral further criticised parliamentary oversight, saying the National Assembly and Senate were funded by taxpayers and their committees had a responsibility to scrutinise the functioning of government ministries and departments.

“Nobody has helped these 14 newborns. And God knows how much more will happen in the future,” he said.

He feared that public attention would eventually move on from the tragedy, leaving the bereaved families as the only people who would continue to remember the children.

“I am sure people will forget this in a month. Just like we remember APS as a national tragedy, nobody will remember these children except their parents,” Jarral said.

He said the contrast with the APS tragedy was particularly painful, noting that teachers had tried to protect their students during the attack, whereas the newborns at PIMS were entirely dependent on hospital staff and the state for their safety.

“For these 14 children, neither a nurse, nor staff, nor doctors, nor the state came forward,” he said.

The protest and vigil came a day after the fire at the MCH nursery claimed the lives of 14 newborn babies, triggering widespread concern over safety arrangements, emergency response mechanisms and accountability at one of the capital’s largest public hospitals.

Police and security officials deployed outside the hospital said that the health secretary was visiting the gynaecology ward and that no one, including the parents of the deceased and injured newborns, could be allowed to enter the hospital at the time.

The incident has also intensified calls for a transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire, including the hospital’s fire-safety measures, emergency evacuation procedures and the response of medical and security staff.