THE fire at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad claimed the lives of fourteen newborn babies. Of fifteen infants in the nursery, only one could be rescued. These children were brought there for protection, yet the place meant to keep them safe became their final resting place. Their parents have no words to say goodbye, while the state has no convincing answers.
Several reports, some unverified, have emerged about the fire’s cause. Only a transparent investigation can establish the facts. But how the fire started is only part of the issue. We must also ask whether measures existed to contain it, evacuate infants and provide an emergency response. Where oxygen is in use, even a small spark can become catastrophic. Functional fire-safety systems, accessible exits, trained staff and equipment inspections are basic requirements. The investigation must determine whether these safeguards existed at PIMS and, if so, why they failed.
This is not an unfamiliar story. A hospital catches fire, a school roof collapses or negligence turns a passenger vehicle into a mass grave. The location and victims’ names change yet the state’s response remains the same. The government expresses regret, promises punishment and announces an inquiry committee. The opposition declares the government incompetent. Television channels provide coverage, while outrage surges across social media. Then another controversy or tragedy captures public attention, and previous disaster fades from memory.
Rather than confronting failure, governments retreat behind defensive statements. The opposition treats the tragedy as an opportunity to embarrass government and score political points. Amid accusations and denials, the families’ suffering and question of accountability become secondary. A great deal of noise is generated, but nothing meaningful emerges.
The uncomfortable truth is that when today’s opposition was in power, it responded to such tragedies much as the present government does now. Likewise, today’s governing parties often preferred political point-scoring to serious proposals and sustained oversight when they occupied the opposition benches. The roles have changed yet behaviour has not. That is why we remain trapped in same cycle of negligence, institutional failure and inaction. This has been the grim pattern of nearly eight decades: tragedy, condolences, criticism, a few days of outrage, an inconclusive inquiry, collective amnesia and then another tragedy. We have learned to mourn disasters, but not to learn from them. Accountability is promised after every incident, yet we have failed to build systems capable of addressing dangers before more lives are lost.
Inquiry committees are not inherently the problem, their ineffectiveness is. The public is rarely told whether a committee completed its report, what it recommended, whom it held responsible or whether its findings were implemented. Reports disappear into government archives, and once public pressure subsides, the matter is forgotten. An inquiry thus becomes a means of managing public anger rather than delivering justice and reform.
The PIMS investigation must not end by blaming a technician, a junior employee or faulty equipment. If safety systems were defective, who was responsible for inspecting them? If funding was requested for repairs, who withheld it? If funds were approved, where were they spent? If an emergency plan existed, when were staff trained? If the building failed to meet safety standards, who authorised a critical-care ward there? Accountability must reach the decision-makers, not stop with weakest people in the chain of command.
The opposition’s responsibility extends beyond declaring government guilty. It should demand that inquiry report be presented before Parliament and that hospitals undergo comprehensive safety inspections. The media must avoid unverified claims and resist turning tragedy into spectacle. Its duty is not merely to show grieving parents in the immediate aftermath, but to return later and ask what became of the investigation, who was held responsible and which reforms were implemented. Public anger, too, will matter only if it develops into sustained demands. The federal government must publish the PIMS inquiry report within the promised timeframe. All hospitals, particularly nurseries, intensive-care units and wards where oxygen is used, should undergo independent fire-safety audits. Annual safety certification, regular emergency drills, clearly marked evacuation routes and administrative and criminal liability for negligence are essential. These measures must precede the next tragedy, not follow it.
The newborns who died at PIMS were not merely statistics or entries in an official file. They were the hope and future of fourteen families. If officials suppress the report, shift responsibility onto junior employees and confine reforms to paper, it will amount to a second injustice against those children and their parents. Nations are not safe because disasters never occur. They are safe because, when disaster strikes, the truth is established, those responsible are held to account and the system is changed. The choice is whether the PIMS tragedy becomes another fleeting headline, or the beginning of genuine accountability and lasting reform.
—The writer is Barrister, based in Canada.
