ISLAMABAD: Outside one of Pakistan’s largest public hospitals on Wednesday, grieving relatives waited behind a heavy police presence for news of their newborns after a nursery fire killed 14 babies, with families questioning whether basic fire-safety measures could have prevented the tragedy.
The blaze broke out early Wednesday on the third floor of the maternal and child health ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad. One newborn was rescued, while hospital Executive Director Imran Sikandar told Arab News an “electric short circuit” caused the fire. Authorities have launched investigations into the cause and whether adequate fire-safety measures were in place.
The disaster has brought renewed scrutiny to fire preparedness in the Pakistani capital, where authorities found widespread safety shortcomings only months ago. A Capital Development Authority survey of 6,500 public and private buildings, including 300 government facilities, found most had neither approved fire-safety plans nor completion and fire-safety certificates.
A mother reacts after the death of her child following a fire incident outside the Mother and Child Health (MCH) ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad on August 26, 2026. (Reuters)
Islamabad has had dedicated fire-prevention and life-safety regulations since 2010, covering measures intended to prevent and control fires and protect life and property. In January, after ordering inspections across the capital, the CDA specifically said emergency exits must be ensured in public and private buildings in case of fires or short circuits.
But outside PIMS on Wednesday, relatives of the babies killed in the nursery were asking how the fire had become deadly so quickly and whether those protections had existed inside the ward.
Kamran Riaz said his younger brother’s daughter was among the newborns who died.
A mourner looks on beside a child's coffin while sitting in an ambulance following a fire outside the Mother and Child Health (MCH) ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad on August 26, 2026.
“We got a call from the hospital that the nursery of the children was on fire and then we came here,” he said.
By the time Riaz spoke to Arab News, police and security personnel had been deployed around the hospital and relatives were waiting outside. He said his family had struggled to communicate with relatives inside and had not yet received the baby’s body.
“You can see that there is a lot of security and police here,” he said. “Then we were not allowed to go inside.”
But beyond his family’s immediate grief, Riaz said he wanted answers about the safety arrangements in the nursery and how the emergency was handled.
“There were 50-60 children in this rescue. So much fire has spread there. What were the security arrangements?” he said. “This is the question that should be asked from the team and the people present there. What did they do?”
Riaz was skeptical that another official inquiry would necessarily produce accountability:
“We demand that there should be a proper investigation and there should not be any members of the government involved,” Riaz added. “There should be an unbiased and proper investigation.”
‘NO PROPER EXITS’
Another father who lost his newborn told reporters he had been visiting the ward for eight days and alleged its fire-safety arrangements were inadequate.
“I wasn’t even able to see my daughter, but the condition of the ward is bad ... the situation was absurd,” said the father, who did not give reporters his name.
“That building had no fire security, no proper exits. All doors were closed, only one door was for us to visit our children. They kept the other doors locked because they feared we would come to see our children too often.”
Arab News could not independently verify his account.
Whether adequate and functional fire-safety measures were present is now one of the questions investigators have been specifically ordered to determine.
Mohammad Aamir Chauhan, a fire and life-safety professional who visited PIMS after learning about the blaze, also raised questions about the ward’s exits.
Chauhan said he believed the fire spread rapidly after reaching infrastructure carrying oxygen to the nursery, but his account has not been confirmed by investigators.
“As soon as there was a fire, oxygen pipes installed there caught fire immediately,” he said.
“Unfortunately, all the exits for security purposes and other purposes are closed.”
Chauhan said two doctors and nurses had tried to rescue the newborns.
“They tried to save the children,” he said. “But they did not get a chance.”
The precise sequence of events remains under investigation. The Islamabad administration said six fire engines and four ambulances responded to the blaze, while state minister for interior Talal Chaudhry said rescue teams arrived within six minutes. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has suspended Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghori and ordered a high-level inquiry.
A separate fact-finding committee established by the Islamabad district magistrate has been specifically tasked with establishing the cause of the fire, determining whether adequate and functional fire-safety measures existed and assessing the response of rescue and firefighting services.
YEARS OF FIRES
The PIMS tragedy follows years of fires that have repeatedly raised questions about fire preparedness in the capital.
In October 2022, a major blaze at Islamabad’s Centaurus Mall prompted a mass evacuation and took about two hours to extinguish, with firefighters joined by the Pakistan Navy, Air Force and Rescue 1122. No deaths were reported.
Islamabad’s H-9 Sunday Bazaar has suffered an even longer series of fires. A blaze in June this year affected more than 380 stalls, while another in July 2024 destroyed hundreds. At least five major fires have been reported at the market since 2017.
Those incidents helped drive renewed scrutiny of safety standards across Islamabad. In January, after completing its survey of thousands of buildings, the CDA warned owners and occupants to submit required fire-safety and hazard-control certificates or face enforcement action.
For Chauhan, Wednesday’s deaths underscored the difference between having safety requirements on paper and ensuring buildings are actually prepared for an emergency.
“We need to ensure safety,” he said. “We need to remove the mistakes that have been made. We need to conduct an inquiry.”
“We need to design and implement the fire safety system. We need to maintain it regularly.”
