DNA
Saudi Arabia has joined a number of countries in expressing condolences and solidarity with Pakistan following the deadly fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad that claimed the lives of newborn babies, with Iran and Turkey also conveying messages of support.
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry extended its “sincere condolences and sympathy” to the families of the victims as well as to the government and people of Pakistan following the devastating incident.
“The Kingdom expresses its solidarity with the families of the victims and stands with the government and people of Pakistan in the wake of this tragic incident,” the ministry said.
Saudi Arabia also reaffirmed its support for Pakistan at a time of profound grief, wishing the country and its people continued “security and safety”.
The statement comes after a fire broke out at the Mother and Child Health ward at Pims in Islamabad, killing at least 14 newborn babies. Pakistani authorities have launched an investigation into the incident and pledged accountability.
Saudi Arabia was not alone in expressing sympathy after the tragedy. Iran and Syria also conveyed condolences to Pakistan, with their foreign ministries expressing solidarity with the government and people and sympathy for the families of the newborns killed in the fire.
The blaze started around 7am on the third floor of the hospital’s Mother and Child Health ward, DNA News reported. “The fire erupted after a blast in an air conditioner,” Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told DNA News, adding that ample oxygen in the ward helped it spread.
The incident is among the deadliest hospital fires in recent years in the country, where government healthcare is subsidised but facilities are under-resourced and overburdened. Watchdogs have frequently criticised state-run facilities as mismanaged.
Television footage showed a gutted, blackened ward with scattered equipment and smoke still rising. The ward was later cordoned off, a Reuters witness said.
Footage showed grief-stricken women sitting on the ground outside the hospital. One of them was Javeria, who lost her newborn in the fire.
“It was a gynaecology ward … there was no doctor, no nurse,” she said, adding that the bodies of the children were taken away “in boxes” and the women did not get to see them.
“It is not God’s will… I don’t accept it,” she said.
Kamal denied accusations that there were no staff or doctors present at the time of the fire.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif suspended the health secretary over the incident, his office said, hours after he ordered an investigation.
The building that housed the ward “had no fire security, no proper exits. All doors were closed; only one door was open for us to visit our children,” said Mudasir, who also lost his child. Javeria and Mudasir both gave only their first names.
Pims, where former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan was briefly taken for a medical check last week, is centrally located in Islamabad and is one of the main public hospitals in the city of around 1.1 million people.
