ISLAMABAD: A Senate committee has directed authorities to immediately register a criminal case over the PIMS neonatal nursery fire that killed 14 newborn babies, after learning that no FIR had yet been lodged despite earlier instructions from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, chaired by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, questioned PIMS officials over the lack of criminal proceedings. Hospital representatives confirmed during Wednesday’s meeting that an FIR had still not been registered.
The committee called for criminal proceedings against officials found responsible for negligence and also recommended placing the names of suspended officials on the Exit Control List and attaching their assets while the case proceeds.
The August 26 fire occurred in the hospital’s Mother and Child Health facility. A subsequent government inquiry identified serious shortcomings in fire alarms, evacuation procedures, emergency exits and preparedness, although it said the precise source of ignition had not been conclusively established.