ISLAMABAD: The Senate and National Assembly standing committees on health have raised serious questions over the CCTV footage of the devastating fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), which claimed the lives of 14 newborns, with lawmakers suggesting that the footage appeared to be incomplete or manipulated.
The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, chaired by Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti, was briefed by Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal on the inquiry into the incident.
The minister told the committee that the neonatal nursery was completely engulfed in flames within about two minutes.
The committee was shown CCTV footage of the PIMS fire. Senator Nasir Butt questioned how many staff members were on duty when the incident occurred and said the footage appeared to be fake.
“The CCTV footage appears to have been edited,” Senator Butt said, expressing concern over its authenticity. He also questioned how the nursery could have been reduced to ashes within seconds.
Committee members said they should have been provided with the inquiry report before being briefed on the incident, arguing that they would have been able to ask more relevant questions after reviewing the report.
Committee member Masroor Ahsan said lawmakers had repeatedly expressed concerns about the former PIMS executive director. He questioned who was responsible for the deaths of 14 newborns and alleged that the former executive director had also faced corruption allegations.
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Ahsan further alleged that the doors of the neonatal nursery and the adjoining ward were closed during the incident and called for the arrest of the former PIMS executive director.
He also questioned claims that PIMS had not received external assistance, pointing out that several hospital blocks had been constructed with foreign aid.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Health, chaired by Dr Mahesh Kumar, also examined the fire incident.
Mustafa Kamal told the committee that he had personally watched the CCTV footage after the incident came to light. According to him, the entire incident lasted only about 120 seconds.
The National Assembly committee chairman said the CCTV footage of the neonatal nursery appeared to be incomplete, questioning where is the CCTV footage of the interior portion of the nursery.
He said the footage showed a nurse entering the nursery, but did not show her coming out.
The chairman said the PIMS administration had failed to provide a satisfactory briefing on the fire and that there were clear contradictions in the statements given by PIMS staff.
He added that the committee had not received a satisfactory explanation regarding the actual cause of the fire. The footage, he said, suggested that the fire spread extremely rapidly.
“We want to know the actual facts and why the fire broke out in the nursery,” the chairman said.
The committee also raised questions about safety arrangements at the neonatal nursery, saying a biomedical engineer should have been present there. It questioned why medical gases were being supplied through cylinders and why portable air-conditioning units had been installed in the affected nursery.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the suspension of officers held responsible following an inquiry into the PIMS fire.
Those suspended include PIMS Executive Director Professor Dr Imran Sikandar, Joint Executive Directors Dr Mutahir Shah and Dr Owais Shah, and Neonatal Department head Professor Dr Saadia Riaz.
Senior Registrar Dr Naghma, Dr Noshila Amjad, PIMS Assistant Director Security Muhammad Usman, and CDA Emergency Services Director General Dr Abdul Rehman were also suspended.
