Arya News - Justices directed the federal government to hand over the findings and a comprehensive response.
ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sought the report submitted to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and details of the action taken, while also questioning the culpability of the hospital’s executive director (ED).
Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar passed the directions while hearing two separate petitions related to the Pims tragedy.
During the hearing of a petition filed by lawyer Qasim Iqbal Jalali seeking a judicial inquiry into the incident, Additional Attorney General (AAG) Rashid Hafeez, Deputy Attorney General Faisal Irfan and Assistant Attorney General Azmat Bashir Tarar appeared before the court.
Justice Dogar termed the Pims fire a “terrible incident” and observed that the loss of 14 children was extremely serious.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the government had constituted committees comprising bureaucrats, questioning how the officials of one department could conduct an inquiry into their own colleagues.
“How can bureaucrats inquire into their own department?” the counsel asked.
The chief justice questioned the legal basis of the request for a judicial inquiry, asking the lawyer under which law the court could order such an inquiry and where the Inquiry Act empowered the IHC to issue such directives.
The counsel referred to the commission constituted after the Punjab Institute of Cardiology incident. The chief justice observed that the said commission had not been constituted by the court, adding that such matters fell within the government’s domain.
“If there is any matter with us, I will ask one of my judges to look into it,” Justice Dogar remarked.
The counsel maintained that “no one can be the judge of his own actions” and argued that responsibility had not been fixed in the inquiry report submitted so far.
AAG Hafeez informed the court that the health secretary had been suspended on the day of the incident, while hospital officials had subsequently been suspended on the basis of an interim inquiry report.
Justice Dogar again termed the incident extremely tragic and asked whether any action was still being taken and whether there was any restriction preventing the court from passing an order.
The court sought the report submitted to the prime minister, along with details of the action taken so far and directed the federation to submit a detailed response.
A separate petition also sought removal of the Pims ED from office — who has already been suspended — and action over the tragedy. The petitioner’s counsel highlighted the conditions at the hospital and questioned the utilisation of its massive budget.
The counsel told the court that the deaths of the children were horrific and requested that the Pims ED be removed from his post.
“How can the court give a direction to remove him from the post?” Chief Justice Dogar asked.
The counsel contended that Pims has an annual budget of around Rs20 to Rs22 billion, yet several children were being accommodated on a single bed. He questioned where the budget was being spent and urged the court to order the executive director’s removal and return his services to his parent department.
The chief justice observed that he believed the Pims ED had already been removed from the post, referring to the prime minister’s orders to suspend Prof Dr Imran Sikandar and seven others. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Chief Executive Officer Dr Mohammad Salman has taken charge of the post after being appointed as the acting Pims ED.
The counsel replied that although the ED had been removed, no responsibility had been fixed against him and he had not been held responsible in the inquiry report either.
AAG Hafeez told the court that the report currently available was only an interim report and that the complete inquiry report would be submitted within five days.
The chief justice specifically asked whether responsibility had so far been fixed against the Pims ED. The court sought a report on the matter and adjourned the hearing.
CDA response sought over alleged lack of safety NOCs
Separately, the IHC has sought a response from the federal capital’s administration over the alleged non-implementation of fire safety laws and regulations in Islamabad.
Justice Dogar heard the petition filed by citizen Malik Naveed Ashiq Awan through his counsel, Advocate Afrasiab Ahmed Rana.
The petition was filed in the wake of the Pims incident. The petitioner contended that even a major healthcare facility such as Pims did not have the requisite fire department no-objection certificate (NOC).
The petition further alleged that commercial, educational and medical buildings across Islamabad were operating without fire safety NOCs and that several buildings lacked essential fire-fighting equipment, emergency exits and fire alarms.
The petitioner pleaded that the Islamabad Fire Prevention and Life Safety Regulations 2010 should be implemented in letter and spirit.
The petition sought directions for an immediate fire safety audit of all buildings in the federal capital and the sealing of buildings operating without valid fire safety NOCs.
It also sought the establishment of a regular inspection mechanism to identify and monitor buildings that are illegal or pose a threat to public safety.
The court issued notices to the home secretary, Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), and the offices of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman and Islamabad chief commissioner — both roles served by retired Lt Sohail Ashraf — seeking their responses.
The petition maintained that the Pims fire had exposed serious shortcomings in the enforcement of fire safety regulations and called for immediate institutional action to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Following the Pims incident, CDA intensified enforcement of fire and life safety regulations across Islamabad, sealing several high-rise buildings and partially sealing two hotels in Blue Area.
It also imposed a fine of Rs500,000 each on Pims, Polyclinic and its own Capital Hospital for “non-compliance with Fire and Life Safety Requirements”.
Final inquiry report awaited
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that the inquiry committee’s investigation into the Pims incident had not been completed yet.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, he said the inquiry was ongoing, not just into the gynaecology department but into all departments of the hospital.
“More names can come up in the final report. Anyone found guilty of negligence will be punished,” Chaudhry said.
Acknowledging that “the innocent lives lost cannot be brought back”, the minister stressed that action against those responsible was essential to avoid similar incidents in the future.
Speaking on behalf of PM Shehbaz, Chaudhry vowed that zero tolerance would be shown towards those found guilty of negligence.
Safety arrangements and precautions at Pims were being closely monitored by the health ministry, he told the media.