ISLAMABAD: The removal of federal health secretary Aslam Ghori following the deadly fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has raised questions about whether complete information regarding his visits to the hospital and subsequent actions was available to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif before the decision was made.
Sources close to the removed health secretary said Ghori had visited Pims three to four times during the week preceding the fire and had regularly submitted reports to the Prime Minister’s Office. However, a source in the PM Office maintained that it had no knowledge of any such reports or actions taken by the secretary regarding Pims.
According to sources close to Ghori, his first visit to Pims was on August 21, when he was accompanied by his staff officer, Dr Shahid Karim. During the visit, he met Rana Imran Sikandar and several other doctors. The sources said a report of the visit, along with a report prepared by the Pims Executive Director, was personally submitted to the PM House at around 6:30pm the same day.
The sources said Ghori visited Pims again on August 23 at around 3pm to review the assignment given to him. The Pims Executive Director and the Head of Radiology were also present during the visit, while another report was reportedly sent to the PM House later that evening.
When informed about the fire on August 27, the sources claimed that Ghori immediately reached Pims and met relevant officials. They said he prepared an initial report from the ICU using a computer available there and sent it to the prime minister’s staff before 11am.
According to the sources, the minister for parliamentary affairs also reached the hospital, obtained a copy of the secretary’s initial report and later responded to media queries. Ghori remained with the minister before proceeding to the PM House for a previously scheduled meeting.
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The sources said the prime minister ordered Ghori’s removal during that meeting, allegedly without being fully informed about his earlier visits to Pims and his immediate response following the fire.
However, sources in the PM Office said the prime minister had spoken to both the health secretary and the health minister, but neither had informed him about Ghori’s visits to Pims or the actions he had taken.
The conflicting accounts have raised questions about whether responsibility for the Pims tragedy was correctly determined and whether the health secretary was removed before the complete picture was presented to the prime minister.
Questions have also emerged regarding an earlier fire incident at the Pims children’s hospital last month. Sources said the health minister informed the prime minister that he had not been made aware of that incident, while sources close to Ghori maintained that the former health secretary had also not been informed about the July fire.
The differing versions have intensified scrutiny over the government’s handling of the tragedy and the process through which accountability was determined. The matter may become clearer as investigations into the Pims fire and its administrative failures proceed.
