Govt Announces Rs5m Aid for Families Affected by PIMS Fire

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has announced Rs5 million in compensation for each family affected by the fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), which claimed the lives of 14 infants.

Speaking to the media at PIMS, Chaudhry expressed sadness over Wednesday’s incident and said 14 infants had become victims of “someone’s criminal negligence”.

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed an inquiry committee to investigate the incident. The committee was expected to submit its report on Thursday.

Chaudhry assured that all “on-duty individuals found guilty of negligence will be given exemplary punishment”.

The minister said no amount of money could compensate the affected families for their loss.

“Neither can their children be brought back, nor can their grief be reduced,” he said. “But to provide some relief […] the prime minister has announced that Rs5 million will be given to all the affected families.”

Chaudhry said he visited PIMS to hand over a cheque to one of the affected families on behalf of the prime minister. He added that the compensation would be deposited into the accounts of the deceased children’s mothers.

“This is a small effort to share their sorrow,” he said.

Asked about demands for DNA tests to identify the bodies, Chaudhry said most of the infants died from suffocation caused by smoke rather than burns.

“So all of them could be identified,” he said.

He added that newborn babies were given identification tags carrying their mothers’ names after birth.

“So they were easily identified.”