IHC seeks report on PIMS fire tragedy

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday clubbed a petition seeking a judicial inquiry into the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) fire tragedy with an already pending case and directed the federal government to submit a detailed response.

The court also sought the report submitted to the prime minister and a report on the action taken in connection with the matter. It further asked why no action had been taken on a report concerning Pims issued by the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Health last year.

Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar heard the petition filed by citizen Munir Ahmed.

During the hearing, the chief justice observed that the court had already passed an order on a similar petition and that the same order would apply in the present case. He directed that the petition be clubbed with the earlier case.

Assistant Attorney General Asif Jadoon received the notice in the courtroom.

Counsel for the petitioner, Azhar Siddique, informed the court that the Standing Committee on Health had written to the prime minister and the National Assembly speaker last year regarding the issue.

He said no implementation or action had followed the letter written by the committee's chairman, Amjad Khan.