'No one will be spared,' says Mustafa Kamal on Pims fire, calls for reforming healthcare system

Pakistan's Health Minister Mustafa Kamal declared on Friday that there will be no mercy shown after a devastating fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), which killed 14 infants. Speaking in the Senate, Kamal stated that "no one intends to spare or save anyone" and that "not a single person will be spared" on behalf of the prime minister and the entire government.

He emphasized that the tragedy could not be dismissed as a passing incident, calling for accountability and measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry announced that the government would provide Rs5 million in compensation to each family affected by the fire. Chaudhry lamented the loss of 14 infants, attributing their deaths to "someone's criminal negligence" and asserting that the prime minister had formed an inquiry committee to investigate the incident.

He assured that those found guilty of negligence would face severe punishment. Chaudhry visited Pims to present a cheque to one of the affected families on behalf of the prime minister, emphasizing that the compensation was a small gesture to ease their sorrow. Concerning DNA testing of the bodies, Chaudhry noted that most of the deceased infants had died from suffocation due to smoke rather than burns, and their identities could be confirmed due to tags with their mothers' names attached to their arms.