ISLAMABAD: The PIMS health secretary removal has come under fresh scrutiny after sources disputed what Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif knew about Muhammad Aslam Ghauri’s hospital visits before the fatal nursery fire.
Sources close to Ghauri said he visited the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences three or four times during the week before the blaze.
They specifically detailed visits on August 21 and August 23 and claimed that reports were sent to the Prime Minister’s Office after both visits.
However, a PM Office source said the office was unaware of those reports or related actions. The source also claimed that neither Ghauri nor Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told the prime minister about the visits when the prime minister spoke to them.
Sources close to Ghauri also said he went to PIMS after learning about the fire and quickly prepared an initial report for the prime minister’s staff.
The competing accounts have not established whether the claimed reports reached Shehbaz before he ordered Ghauri’s removal.
Read: PIMS Fire Probe: Parliament Orders Special Joint Committee
The fire struck PIMS’ Mother and Child Healthcare Centre on August 26 and killed 14 infants. The Prime Minister’s Office announced Ghauri’s suspension and removal the same day as Shehbaz ordered an investigation.
Meanwhile, an interim inquiry has identified serious administrative and fire-safety failures but said investigators have not conclusively established the precise ignition source.
Read: PIMS Nursery Fire: Hospital Releases Victim Details
Shehbaz subsequently ordered the suspension of eight PIMS and emergency-services officials and directed criminal proceedings against them. The inquiry continues to examine individual responsibility and technical evidence surrounding the blaze.
