• Parliamentary committee formed as minister vows no one responsible for deaths of infants will be spared
• Parrying calls for his resignation, Mustafa Kamal paints grim picture of country’s healthcare sector
• Rs5 million compensation announced for each affected family
ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers in the National Assembly and Senate on Friday demanded accountability for the deaths of 14 newborns in a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), with the health minister assuring both houses that those responsible for the tragedy would not be spared.
The Senate suspended its routine business on a motion moved by PPP’s Sherry Rehman for a detailed discussion on the incident, while the NA unanimously suspended the day’s agenda to debate the tragedy and chalk out a strategy to prevent similar incidents.
Minister for National Health Services Regulation and Coordination Mustafa Kamal told the Senate that he considered himself responsible for the tragedy and had presented himself for accountability.
“I am the health minister. I consider myself responsible [for the tragedy]. I present myself [for accountability],” he said.
Mr Kamal said a government committee had already been constituted and would submit its report on Friday night. He agreed to the formation of a parliamentary committee comprising opposition members and proposed that a joint committee of the Senate and NA could also be constituted.
He urged lawmakers to wait for the completion of the investigation before reaching conclusions, saying the probe would be based on proof, including digital evidence, videos, eyewitness accounts and information obtained from the affected families. All relevant institutions had been directed to cooperate with the investigation, he added.
“Whoever is found negligent will not be spared. Not a single individual will be spared,” he said.
Responding to calls for his resignation, the minister said the investigation should first be completed, adding that he had already taken action beyond what critics expected.
Mr Kamal painted a grim picture of the country’s health indicators, saying around 400,000 children died every year and about 1,300 children died daily.
“The entire system has rotted and decayed,” he said, stressing that collective planning and efforts were needed to address the crisis. In the NA, Mr Kamal called for a special parliamentary committee to investigate the incident and continuously monitor the health sector in Islamabad. He suggested that the committee should have no fixed timeframe so that weaknesses and shortcomings could be monitored regularly.
“I have asked the members of the Senate the same thing and there can be a combined committee of the parliamentarians to continuously monitor the state of affairs in the hospitals of Islamabad and forward suggestions to me,” he said.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar subsequently moved a motion in the NA for the establishment of a parliamentary committee comprising members of all political parties to oversee the performance and shortcomings of the health sector in Islamabad. The committee would be jointly chaired by the NA speaker and Senate chairman.
Calls for accountability
Speaking in the Senate, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman called for a transparent and independent investigation, saying the tragedy raised serious questions about governance, accountability and public safety.
She questioned the circumstances surrounding the emergency gate at Pims, saying the executive director’s account contradicted statements by firefighters and Capital Development Authority (CDA).
“The executive director of Pims was lying when he said that the emergency gate was not closed,” she alleged, adding that an emergency exit was supposed to remain open.
Ms Rehman also pointed to contradictions between the Pims report and CDA findings on fire safety. She said the CDA had repeatedly declared the hospital’s fire-safety arrangements inadequate and questioned why no action had been taken despite Pims receiving substantial federal funding. She also claimed that the hospital did not have a fire NOC.
The Senate unanimously passed a resolution moved by Ms Rehman calling for a special committee to investigate the tragedy.
PTI parliamentary leader in the Senate Syed Ali Zafar described the incident as a “terrible tragedy” and called for a thorough investigation to establish its immediate cause, identify negligence and fix responsibility.
He said the tragedy should not become “just another incident that is mourned for a few days and then forgotten”.
Mr Zafar held the government politically responsible for what he described as a systemic failure, arguing that the PM and cabinet bore ultimate responsibility for government policies and priorities.
He proposed an equal representation committee headed by an opposition member, empowered to inspect hospitals, summon records and seek explanations from administrations.
NA resolution
The NA also unanimously adopted a resolution expressing grief over the loss of the infants and calling for strict action against those responsible for negligence.
The resolution, moved by Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Barrister Danyal Chaudhry, called upon the government to ascertain the facts, fix responsibility for any safety lapses and take legal action against those found responsible.
During the debate, PTI members criticised Pims management and recalled previous statements by treasury members praising the hospital’s standards when PTI founder Imran Khan was taken there for treatment. Former NA speaker Asad Qaiser called for resignation of the prime minister and cabinet.
PPP and JUI-F members also called for the health minister’s resignation.
The NA session was later prorogued by Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah.
Rs5m compensation
Earlier in the day, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry announced Rs5m compensation for each family affected by the fire.
Recalling Wednesday’s incident while speaking to the media at Pims, the minister regretted that 14 infants had fallen victim to “someone’s criminal negligence”.
Responding to a question about demands for DNA tests of the bodies, he said most of the deceased children died in the incident not because they were burnt but because of suffocation due to smoke.
“So all of them could be identified,” he said, adding that after birth, infants had tags with their mothers’ names on their arms.
Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2026
