Four more children died in Thar's Mithi and Nagarparkar hospitals over the past three days, raising the death toll to 98 since January 1, 2017, and Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar directed the Sindh chief secretary to submit a report on infant deaths in Thar within 36 hours.

Justice Nisar took sou moto notice of the issue in March 2017 after a media report highlighted the plight of more than 11,000 ailing children who were brought to six different health facilities in Mithi District for treatment since the beginning of this year.

The report also drew attention to vulnerabilities pertaining to water crises, health care, and remoteness in the area as the most crucial factors exacerbating existing conditions, while the affected children's parents complained of a lack of facilities at hospitals.

District Health Officer Tharparkar Dr Akhlaq Ahmed told Dawn that 9,187 infants had been admitted to six facilities across the district, out of which 98 children below the age of five lost their lives, while 145 were referred to teaching hospitals in Karachi and Hyderabad.

Dr Akhlaq was uncertain, however, whether those referred to the other hospitals had died or survived on their ways to the hospitals.

He confirmed that he had sent a detailed report to his superiors after the Supreme Court took notice of the infant deaths.