Reporting snapshot · 26 August 2026. The death toll of 14 is the figure officials confirmed on the day. Accounts of the cause and the speed of the rescue differ and are attributed to the people who gave them.
What happened
Fourteen infants were killed in a fire that broke out at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad early on 26 August 2026, health officials said. The blaze started at about 6:45am on the third floor of the hospital’s gynaecology and Mother and Child Health ward, where 15 newborns were being cared for in incubators or on oxygen.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told reporters that the fire began with a “blast in the air conditioner” inside the ward and spread rapidly because of the oxygen in the room. Pims spokesperson Dr Aneeza Jalil told Dawn that 15 babies were in the ward and that at least one was saved by a doctor. Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhary, who visited the hospital, said a short circuit was to blame and that most of the infants died of suffocation; a gas line and plastic equipment helped the fire spread, he said.
The Islamabad administration said rescue teams reached the site with six fire brigade vehicles and four ambulances and brought the fire under control.
Why it matters
The deaths made it one of the deadliest hospital fires in Pakistan in recent years, at one of the largest public hospitals in the capital. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice, ordered an immediate investigation and, after chairing an emergency meeting, removed Federal Secretary for Health Aslam Ghauri from his post. The Prime Minister’s Office said a high-level inquiry committee would be headed by former interior secretary Shahid Khan.
The Islamabad district magistrate separately formed a fact-finding committee, led by an additional deputy commissioner general, to establish the cause, assess whether fire-safety measures were adequate and review the rescue response. The hospital said its firefighting equipment was operational, and the health minister said staff had gone to call the rescue services once the fire started.
What remains uncertain
Families and some officials disputed the official account. Parents told Geo News that the intensive-care nursery door was locked, that no nursery staff were present and that they tried to rescue the children themselves; some alleged that rescue services arrived late. The Islamabad administration said the first emergency call came at 6:45am and that fire tenders and ambulances arrived within minutes. The district magistrate’s committee was asked to report within 24 hours.
Senior journalists, former health officials and politicians, including opposition and coalition lawmakers, demanded an independent or judicial inquiry, with some calling for action reaching beyond the suspended health secretary. Pims has not confirmed the locked-door allegations. The exact sequence of events, and who was responsible, remains the subject of the inquiries.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent on-the-ground reporting. Facts and attributed remarks are as carried by the cited sources, which were reviewed on 26 August 2026.
- Dawn — "14 infants killed in fire at Pims' gynae ward in Islamabad"26 August 2026 · The confirmed toll, the ward, the air-conditioner and short-circuit accounts, and the inquiry committees.
- Geo News — "Pims deadly fire: Parents allege locked NICU door, absence of nursery staff"26 August 2026 · Parents' allegations about the locked door, missing staff and the rescue timeline, and the health minister's response.
- The News — "Independent probe demanded into deaths of 14 infants in Pims fire"26 August 2026 · The suspension of the health secretary, the Shahid Khan committee and the calls for an independent inquiry.
