A mother reacts after the death of her child following a fire incident outside the Mother and Child Health (MCH) ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad on August 26, 2026. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)
Islamabad, Pakistan: A fire erupted in a hospital's maternity ward in Islamabad on Wednesday, killing 14 infants, Pakistani authorities said, with the prime minister calling for an investigation.
The fire broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward at the public Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the Islamabad district office said in a statement.
The statement gave a death toll of 14, who according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were all infants.
A father reacts after the death of his child following a fire incident outside the Mother and Child Health (MCH) ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad on August 26, 2026. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)
Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed "deep grief and sorrow over the deaths of 14 infants" in separate statements.
"Such a situation involving children is irreparable," the prime minister said.
"The circumstances that led to the incident should be thoroughly reviewed, those responsible should be identified, and the strictest possible action should be taken."
Authorities have not identified the cause of the fire.
Workers remove shards of broken windows following a fire incident outside the Mother and Child Health (MCH) ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad on August 26, 2026. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)
Sohail Ashraf, the Islamabad chief commissioner, said the emergency call was made just before 7:00 am (0200 GMT), with rescue and police teams reaching the scene "immediately" and bringing the fire under control.
Outside the hospital, an AFP reporter saw a woman in tears and a man clear glass from two broken windows, as security guards stood at the entrance to the leading medical facility.
