INDEED, Allah is the protector and sustainer of this entire universe, as He Himself declares in the Holy Qur’an: “Allah is the Protector of those who believe. He brings them out from darkness into light” (Al-Baqarah 2:257). After the divine decree, human beings are charged with a share in the preservation of life, acting within the limits of their understanding, authority and the trust placed upon them. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) taught that “every one of you is a shepherd and every one of you is responsible for his flock.”
Those who first examine their own failings and correct them are counted among the wise, yet such self-scrutiny remains rare among men and nations. In the same spirit, physicians and their assistants in the hospitals assume the role of healers. The Qur’an elevates the act of preserving life with these solemn words: “Whoever saves a life, it is as if he had saved all of mankind” (Al-Ma’idah 5:32). Accidents and natural disasters can happen in most advanced countries and best-equipped institutions. What distinguishes honourable service is the readiness of some to fulfil their duty without regard for personal safety, standing firm when others might turn away.
As reported in media, in the early hours of Wednesday Aug 26 a grievous fire broke out in the nursery of Mother and Child Health ward on the third floor of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the foremost public hospital of the federal capital. According to media reports an air-conditioning unit exploded or suffered a short circuit and flames fed by oxygen points and incubators that sustained the infants, spread with terrible swiftness. Fifteen newborns lay in that nursery — some but a few hours old, others only two or three days into life. Fourteen of them perished amid the smoke and heat and only one was rescued by a doctor who remained at his post. The little ones, many of them still dependent upon continuous oxygen, were either burned or overcome when their supply was cut off.
Relatives who had entrusted their children to that place of supposed safety spoke of locked doors, of staff nowhere to be found at the critical moment, and of a long and agonising wait for help. One mother cried for two hours outside a closed entrance, another asked why the doctors had left the children alone. Fathers stood outside in grief, among them a vegetable seller whose twin daughters of three days had been left overnight while he sought brief rest at home, only to learn that both had been taken. The bodies, once identified, were returned to families who had prepared for joy and now received only silence and mourning. Officials maintain that rescue teams with six fire engines and four ambulances arrived swiftly and brought the blaze under control yet anguish of the parents remains unanswered as why the ward was left unattended continues to pierce the heart.
One is compelled to ask where the failures lay — in education, in professional training, in the daily habits of responsibility, in maintenance of equipment or in larger culture of accountability. After such a tragedy, can the nation be assured that same neglect will not be repeated when the next emergency arises? No formal survey in the public domain records the precise degree of satisfaction among Pakistanis with the performance of government hospitals yet the quiet judgment of ordinary observation suggests that dissatisfaction runs between sixty and seventy-five per cent.
Contrast this with the scenes, once widely shared, from the great earthquakes in China and Japan: there medical staff covered the infants in the neonatal wards with their own bodies, refusing to abandon the helpless even as the walls shook. Their example stands as a living commentary upon the Prophetic teaching that the best of people are those most beneficial to others.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan took swift notice, ordered a full investigation by a high-level committee and directed immediate suspension of the Federal Health Secretary. Let that inquiry proceed without fear or favour. Let it examine not only the spark that began the fire but deeper tremors in training, supervision, equipment safety and moral resolve. Trust of healing is sacred and lives of the weak are a trust from Allah. May those who stand at the bedside of afflicted remember always that they are shepherds, accountable for their flock and that the saving of even one life carries the weight of all mankind.
—The writer is Director General Research, National Assembly Secretariat, Parliament House, Islamabad.
