Pakistan suspends eight officials over hospital fire that killed 14 babies

What the report says

Pakistan’s prime minister has suspended eight officials and ordered criminal proceedings after a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad killed 14 babies in a neonatal ward, Al Jazeera reported on 29 Aug. 2026. The action followed an interim inquiry into the blaze, which broke out shortly before 7am on Wednesday in the hospital’s Mother and Child Healthcare Centre and spread through oxygen outlets near incubators.

According to the report, the fire was contained to a third-floor nursery, but staff were able to rescue only one of 15 babies in the ward. The suspended officials include senior hospital administrators, neonatal department leadership, doctors, a security official and an emergency services head from the Capital Development Authority. The prime minister also approved action against the private security company responsible for the hospital.

The interim findings said the hospital lacked meaningful fire safety procedures, that only a small number of its standard operating procedures addressed fire or other emergencies, and that key supervisory staff were absent when the blaze began. Emergency services were called several minutes after the fire started, and responders arrived later, the report said. The panel also noted that a separate fire had occurred at the hospital’s nursing hostel about a month earlier without leading to safety changes.

Al Jazeera reported that the government has appointed an acting director for PIMS, pledged compensation for affected families, and honored a nurse who helped save one child. The case has renewed scrutiny of hospital safety standards and emergency preparedness in Pakistan’s public health system.