At least 15 newborn babies were killed on Wednesday morning when a fire broke out in the nursery of Pakistan’s largest public hospital in Islamabad, in one of the deadliest medical facility disasters in the country’s recent history.
The blaze erupted around 7 a.m. local time at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), a state-run hospital centrally located in the capital. Rescue officials said an air conditioning compressor reportedly exploded inside the nursery of the gynecology ward, igniting the fire that trapped newborns in their cribs. Of the 16 infants in the ward at the time, 15 did not survive. One baby was rescued alive, broadcaster Geo TV reported, citing rescue sources. The casualty toll remains subject to revision as authorities continue to assess the scene.
Emergency Response and Government Reaction
Television footage showed rescue workers using ladders to access the affected third floor through broken windows, while ambulances lined the hospital grounds. The ward was cordoned off as investigators moved through the charred nursery to gather evidence. Emergency teams from the Capital Development Authority and Rescue 1122 arrived within minutes, but the fire had already consumed much of the nursery by the time they reached the ward.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow and ordered an immediate investigation. “A tragedy involving children is an irreparable loss,” Sharif said in a statement from his office. He directed that those responsible be identified and that “the strictest action should be taken.” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the hospital and told reporters that the government would not tolerate negligence.
PIMS is one of the main public hospitals in Islamabad, serving patients from the capital and surrounding regions. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was treated there as recently as last week. The hospital operates major maternity, neonatal, and children’s healthcare facilities and receives referrals from across northern Pakistan.
Systemic Safety Concerns in Pakistan’s Hospitals
The incident is among the deadliest hospital fires in recent years in Pakistan, where government healthcare is subsidized but facilities are widely criticized as under-resourced and overburdened. Safety watchdogs have frequently flagged state-run hospitals for poor maintenance of electrical systems, inadequate fire suppression equipment, and weak emergency protocols.
Pakistan’s public hospitals serve millions of patients annually but operate with chronic shortages of trained maintenance staff and modern safety infrastructure. Fires at medical facilities are not uncommon, though fatalities on this scale are rare and typically prompt national outrage and political fallout. A 2023 fire at a Karachi children’s hospital killed one infant when an incubator caught fire, and multiple smaller incidents have been reported across the country in recent years.
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology later confirmed that local weather conditions did not contribute to the fire, ruling out external causes. Authorities are focusing their investigation on the air conditioning system and the nursery’s electrical infrastructure. Initial findings suggest the compressor may have overheated due to a wiring fault, though forensic teams are still working to establish the exact sequence of events.
Questions Mount Over Accountability
The tragedy has reignited debate over the state of Pakistan’s public health system. Opposition politicians have called for the health minister’s resignation, while medical associations demanded a comprehensive safety audit of all government hospitals in the country. Rights groups pointed out that Pakistan spends less than 3% of GDP on healthcare, among the lowest rates in South Asia.
Nurses and support staff at PIMS told reporters they had previously raised concerns about the hospital’s aging air conditioning units, but that maintenance requests went unfulfilled for months. Hospital administrators have not yet responded to these allegations publicly, though a spokesperson said the hospital was cooperating fully with investigators.
The World Health Organization said it was monitoring the situation and stood ready to assist Pakistani authorities with any technical support required for the investigation. International media outlets, including Reuters, AP, and CNN, had reporters on the ground by mid-morning, and the story was leading news bulletins across South Asia by midday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, forensic teams were still working inside the cordoned ward. The full cost of the disaster, both human and institutional, will likely take weeks to establish. Pakistan’s upper house of parliament observed a minute of silence, and flags at government buildings in Islamabad were lowered to half-staff.
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