A four-member committee, constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to probe into the deaths of 14 newborns at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), which left the entire nation in a state of shock, submitted its findings to the prime minister at a high-level meeting held at Model Town in Lahore on Saturday.
It was decided at the meeting that tough action would be taken against those responsible for the painful tragedy.
Sources told the 24News TV channel that the committee authorized the prime minister to either make the report public or keep it confidential.
The sources further disclosed that the report, bearing the signatures of all committee members, made a mention of the lack of facilities at the hospital. “None of the facilities at the hospital is at par with international standards,” it said.
They added it had identified those responsible for the tragedy as well as its causes. It recommended immediate action against the guilty employees of the hospital. Sources informed that the report mentioned the difficulties faced during rescue efforts. It recommended action against the PIMS staffers, who were absent on that day.
The report also recommended measures so that incidents like these did not recur.
Interviews with the members of the hospital’s administration as well as doctors were also part of the report, sources elaborated. The statements given by firefighters were also included in the report.
Probe committee recommends ‘removal’ of top 10 officers
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has summoned an importing meeting regarding PIMS fire tragedy in which recommendations of the probe committee will be discussed and decisions will be taken.
According to sources, the inquiry committee, headed by former interior secretary Shahid Khan, has held ten top PIMS officers including Executive Director Imran Sikandar and the relevant staffers responsible for the tragedy and recommended their immediate removal from posts.
Sources in the probe committee have divulged to the 24News TV channel that these top officers demonstrated “negligence and carelessness” in their duties.
The hospital was being run by “extremely unprofessional way” and without any “administrative structure”, the committee said, adding these top officers should be replaced by new professional people.
The sources said it was also recommended to raise a governing board to oversee the PIMS affairs.
