Judicial commission may be formed if PIMS probe fails to satisfy: Mustafa Kamal

Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Thursday did not rule out the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the deadly fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), saying a judicial commission could be formed to ascertain the facts if the inquiry committee constituted failed to provide satisfactory answers.

Fourteen newborn babies were killed on Wednesday after a fire broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child Hospital ward. Following the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz suspended Health Secretary Aslam Ghori and formed an inquiry committee headed by former interior secretary Shahid Khan.

Read: 14 newborns killed in fire at PIMS Hospital in Islamabad

Speaking on private television programme Capital Talk, the minister said a judicial commission could be formed to ascertain the facts if the inquiry committee constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif failed to provide satisfactory answers.

When comparing the incident with the Gul Plaza tragedy in Karachi, in which more than 70 people were burnt to death, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had demanded a judicial commission, Kamal said the situations in Sindh and Islamabad were different.

“However, a judicial commission can be formed at any time. If this [inquiry] is not satisfactory and it appears that it is not determining all these things, a judicial commission will be formed,” he said.

Asked about the impression that three committees had been formed to probe the incident, the minister rejected the claim, saying there was only one committee, constituted by the prime minister and headed by Shahid.

“There is only one committee, and its terms of reference are very clear about what it has to determine and what recommendations it has to give. Twenty-four hours have passed, and after another 24 hours, it has to submit its report,” he said.

Asked why the PIMS executive director had not been removed despite the health secretary’s suspension, Kamal said he was waiting for the inquiry report and that everything would become clear within the next 24 hours.

“We have to implement all its recommendations,” he said.

The minister said action would be taken against whoever was found responsible, including the executive director.

“The children who lost their lives were very dear to us,” he said.

Also Read: Health committee finds no evidence old AC caused fire that killed 14 newborns

“Am I the only one left to answer for everyone’s actions? If I do not have the powers to correct things, I have no desire to remain a minister,” he added.

Asked whether he had tendered his resignation to the prime minister the previous day but that it had not been accepted, Kamal questioned the basis of the information.

“Are you asking this based on information or analysis?” he responded, and when the host asked whether the prime minister should be asked directly, Kamal replied: “Ask those from whom you obtained this information. I have no answer to this.”

Talking about contradictions between the reports of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and PIMS, Kamal said he also wanted to know the facts and that the situation would become clear once the inquiry report was submitted.

He said he was unaware of the alleged preparation of fake medical certificates at PIMS but added that he was not surprised by allegations of corruption at the hospital.

Kamal admitted, however, that he could not fix all the problems himself.

‘Contradictions’ in PIMS accounts

Speaking on the same programme, Shazia Sobia Soomro, a member of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Health, said there were significant contradictions in the statements given by the PIMS executive director, duty doctors and other staff members when the committee spoke to them.

She said there were no proper firefighting arrangements and that the emergency exit doors did not have adequate arrangements to evacuate patients in case of an emergency.

Soomro said that when a short-circuit incident was reported at the nursing hostel on July 6, the CDA had issued a report stating that there was no proper fire-safety system in place, but no action was taken afterwards.

“In the last three years, Rs22 billion has been given to PIMS, but looking at the building today, nowhere did it appear that Rs22b had been given to this hospital,” she said.

Read More: 'Give me my child back': Mother mourns infant lost in PIMS fire

She said a new building had been constructed adjacent to the old one, with a gynaecology ward, labour room, neonatal intensive care ward and a functional nursery, and questioned why the children had been kept in the old nursery when a new facility was already available.

Soomro further claimed that around 40 to 50 children were present in the ward when the fire broke out, contrary to the reported figure of 15 deaths.

“The fire in that nursery did not burn only 15 children. They have only identified 15 children. We spoke to people there, including patients and attendants, and came to know that there were 40 to 50 children in that nursery,” she said, adding that she would include the matter in her report.

The PPP leader also questioned how the “totally burnt” children were identified and handed over to their parents without DNA testing.

“How did you identify the children? What identification mark was there? There are question marks over everything,” she said.