PESHAWAR: Senator Aimal Wali Khan called for an immediate audit of fire safety and emergency safety arrangements in all hospitals across the country to prevent such heartbreaking incidents in the future.
Awami National Party Central President Senator Aimal Wali Khan has expressed deep grief over the deaths of new-borns in a fire at the nursery ward of PIMS Hospital, and called for a transparent and impartial investigation into the incident.
In a statement on Tuesday, Senator Aimal Wali Khan said the burning to death of 15 innocent lives in a hospital nursery was an extremely serious and unforgivable act of negligence.
“If this is the condition of hospitals in the country’s capital, then God help the rest of the country,” he said. He said the government and hospital administration must answer the questions being raised by the parents of the deceased children.
Calling the NICU an extremely sensitive area, he asked why adequate staff was not present in the nursery at the time of the incident. Aimal Wali Khan also raised questions about fire safety and emergency exit arrangements. He asked who was responsible for monitoring safety standards at such a sensitive location, and why immediate access to the children was not possible after the fire broke out.
The ANP chief said the incident cannot be dismissed as just an accident and the case closed. He stressed that those responsible must be identified and held strictly accountable. “Suspending a few employees is not enough.
There must be an immediate, transparent and impartial investigation,” he said. He demanded that the parents of the deceased children be provided complete facts about the incident. “If the tragedy turns out to be the result of poor arrangements or administrative negligence, those responsible should not be spared under any circumstances,”
He expressed sympathy and condolences to the parents and families of the victims, and prayed that Allah grant them the strength to bear this irreparable loss.
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