Overview
- A fast‑moving blaze on Wednesday, Aug. 26, swept the third‑floor Mother and Child/NICU ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad and 14 of the 15 newborns inside died.
- PIMS’s preliminary report says an electrical spark or a nebulizer blast near incubators ignited supplemental oxygen and piping, allowing smoke to enter infants’ breathing systems and the fire to spread within minutes.
- A prime‑ministerial investigative committee visited the nursery Thursday to gather evidence, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered urgent inquiries, and the federal health secretary has been suspended pending findings.
- Eyewitness accounts and fire‑brigade inspections allege locked or obstructed emergency exits, security interference with early rescue efforts and the absence of water sprinklers, raising questions about evacuation and safety systems.
- Families held funerals as international missions and UNICEF offered condolences, provincial authorities ordered 24‑hour hospital safety audits, and officials face pressure to install alarms, sprinklers and regular emergency drills.