THE deaths of 14 neonates in PIMS are not simply a hospital fire tragedy. They represent a profound test of Pakistan’s institutional conscience, professional responsibility and national security preparedness. 14 new born had barely entered the world died inside a facility that was supposed to protect them. How could fire in a neonatal ward turn into a catastrophe in which almost every newborn died? A malfunctioning electrical system can cause a fire, yet negligence, inadequate safety arrangements, poor emergency preparedness, absence of effective supervision and failures in rescue procedures can determine whether that fire becomes a tragedy of this magnitude.
The first responsibility must therefore be to establish the human element. Hospitals dealing with critically ill newborns can’t operate on assumptions. Electrical equipment, oxygen systems, air-conditioning units, fire alarms, emergency exits, extinguishers and backup systems require continuous inspection and professional maintenance. A neonatal ward is among the most vulnerable environments in any hospital because its patients can’t walk, communicate, protect themselves or escape. Any failure of duty in such a ward is not an ordinary administrative mistake; it can become a matter of life and death.
The moral dimension is even more disturbing. Medical professionals and hospital administrators accept an extraordinary responsibility when helpless patients are placed in their care. Parents surrender their children to a hospital because they believe trained personnel and institutional systems will protect them. If staff shortages, negligence, indifference or procedural violations contributed to the deaths, those responsible must not be shielded by bureaucracy. Accountability should extend from the person who failed to perform basic duty to senior officials responsible for ensuring that safety standards existed and were enforced.
Professional responsibility must also be examined independently of emotion. Investigators should determine who was officially assigned to the ward at the time of the fire, who was physically present, when the alarm was raised, how quickly emergency teams responded, whether fire exits were accessible, whether doors were locked or obstructed, whether oxygen systems intensified the blaze, and why the newborns could not be evacuated quickly. There is another dimension that Pakistan can’t afford to ignore: terrorism. Forensic evidence can establish terrorism factor. An initial explanation should never become the final conclusion before a comprehensive investigation is completed. Pakistan has endured enough terrorism to understand that vulnerable civilian targets can be exploited in unexpected ways.
The Peshawar APS tragedy in December 2014 remains the clearest reminder. Terrorists of TTP attacked the school and killed scores of children and staff. The atrocity demonstrated that terrorists could deliberately select places where civilians particularly children were concentrated. If Peshawar APS tragedy can happen anything can happen again. Factor of terrorism by BLA, BLF and TTP can’t be ruled out.
A serious investigation should therefore include forensic examination of the electrical system, air-conditioning equipment, oxygen infrastructure and fire alarms; analysis of CCTV footage; examination of access records; questioning of staff and security personnel; inspection of maintenance records; and, where necessary, a counterterrorism assessment of whether there was evidence of deliberate interference. Investigators should determine whether the fire originated accidentally, whether safety systems failed independently, or whether someone deliberately created conditions that allowed a small incident to become a mass-casualty event.
The investigation must also remain protected from political influence. Pakistan has seen too many inquiries that generate headlines but fail to produce meaningful accountability. The families of the dead deserve more than condolences, compensation and promises. Those found criminally negligent should face trial. If deliberate sabotage or terrorism is established, the perpetrators and their facilitators must face the full force of the law. Conversely, no individual should be accused merely because public anger demands a culprit. Justice requires evidence, due process and an investigation capable of surviving scrutiny.
The PIMS tragedy should ultimately become a national wake-up call. Hospitals need mandatory fire and electrical audits, regular emergency drills, functioning alarms, clearly marked evacuation routes, adequate staffing and independently verified safety compliance. Neonatal wards should receive the highest possible level of protection because their patients are incapable of protecting themselves. 14 innocent lives cannot be brought back. But their deaths can force Pakistan to confront a painful truth: disasters rarely result from one broken wire alone. They often emerge from a chain of small failures—technical, administrative, professional and moral—that nobody takes seriously until it is too late.
Thorough investigation is required to point out negligence, incompetence, safety violations, human error and possibility of terrorism. The truth must be established wherever it leads. For the families who lost their children, justice is not a political slogan. It is the minimum obligation of a state that promised to protect them. No place can be considered beyond the reach of those who seek to kill innocents. Every possibility must be examined because when the lives of children are at stake, complacency itself can become a form of negligence.
—The writer is editor, political analyst & author of several books based in Islamabad.
