SHC demands 'comprehensive' report from Sindh govt in 2 weeks over reported Karachi hospital HIV outbreak

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the provincial government to submit a detailed report within a fortnight in response to a petition alleging that over 200 children of industrial workers contracted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and nine died due to negligence at a government hospital in Karachi.

The petition, filed by Advocate Tariq Mansoor, claimed that the HIV outbreak at the Kulsum Bai Valika (KBV) Hospital located in the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) area was caused by the reuse of contaminated disposable syringes and gross medical negligence, resulting in the spread of infection to over 200 children, with several reported fatalities.

The Sindh chief secretary, Labour and Human Resources secretary, Health secretary, Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI) chairperson and commissioner, KBV Hospital medical superintendent, KBV Hospital medical superintendent (suspended) Dr Ghulam Mustufa Abro, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan chief executive officer, human rights secretary, Sindh Child Protection Authority director general, inspector general of police and Employers Federal of Pakistan president were nominated as respondents.

Furthermore, a letter addressed to the chief secretary and other senior government officials, dated March 31 and submitted by the counsel, shared with The Express Tribune, noted that the outbreak initially infected 84 children between November 2025 and February 2026.

The KBV hospital, functioning under the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI), established under the Sindh Employees Social Security Act, 2016, is responsible for providing medical facilities to the insured workers and their dependents, the petition detailed.

Read: 3-year-old tests HIV-positive

A division bench comprising Justice Adnanul Karim Memon and Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry heard the instant constitutional petition, filed under Article 199 of the Constitution, for the enforcement of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 4, 9, 10-A, 14, 19-A, 25, 37 and 38.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel told the court that the provincial government exercised "gross negligence and carelessness" in addressing the health emergency.

He alleged that the repeated use of previously used syringes at the public hospital led to the outbreak of HIV among minors.

“Nine children have died due to the HIV outbreak, while hundreds of others have reportedly contracted the virus,” the petitioner argued before the SHC, adding that eight months had passed since the deaths of the nine children, yet no legal action had been initiated on their behalf.

Addressing the bench, the litigator maintained that international organisations, including the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), had also expressed concern over the situation.

He highlighted that the hospital catered to a large number of patients daily and owed a “statutory duty” to provide safe and adequate medical treatment.

Recalling a notification issued by the Labour and Human Resources Department to the SESSI commissioner on April 14 to furnish a comprehensive report, the public interest litigator said, “The inquiry report has neither been submitted before the court nor made available to any other party.”

Meanwhile, the petition also noted, “The respondents have failed to discharge their statutory and constitutional obligations by not conducting an independent inquiry, not registering criminal cases against those responsible, not ensuring comprehensive screening and treatment of affected patients, and not framing the rules contemplated under Section 10 of the Sindh Regulation and Control of Disposable Syringes Act, 2010.”

“Such inaction … amounts to arbitrary exercise of authority and infringes the fundamental rights of the affected children, their families and the public at large,” it read further.

Read more: 23,000 HIV patients untraceable: minister

Advocate Mansoor lamented that only the health secretary was authorised to initiate FIRs against suspects involved in the HIV outbreak under the applicable legal framework.

He prayed to the court that if it did not intervene, hundreds of children could lose their chance at life.

Justice Memon observed that while the matter was serious, the provincial top court was bound to proceed in accordance with the established legal procedure.

He said the court would conclude only after receiving responses from all parties.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the court directed the government to submit a detailed inquiry report within two weeks. The bench also issued notices to the respondents seeking their replies and adjourned the hearing until July 20.

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