The fire occurred at the Mother and Child Health Ward in its Islamabad district office of the public Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on the third floor, according to a statement.
The statement gave a death toll of 14, who, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, were all infants.
The deaths of 14 children were “deep sorrow and grief” to Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in separate statements.
BBC: At least 14 babies die in Pakistan hospital fire
“The newborn babies who died in the fire have been badly burnt, and will need to be identified in through DNA tests, police said.” https://t.co/qwwoPQwSzH
— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) August 29, 2026
“Such a situation with children is irreparable,” the prime minister said.
The circumstances surrounding the incident should be fully investigated, the perpetrators should be identified, and the most stringent measures should be implemented.
Fire officials have yet to determine the cause of the blaze.
Islamabad chief commissioner Sohail Ashraf said the call for emergency was received minutes before 7:00 am (0200 GMT) and the rescue and police teams arrived “immediately” to extinguish the fire.
Security guards were standing at the entrance to the leading medical facility, while a woman stood in tears and a man was clearing glass from two broken windows outside the hospital, an AFP reporter reported.
In Pakistan, fire is a common occurrence in large buildings, which may be caused by inadequate safety legislation, building codes, and their enforcement.
Over 65 people were killed in a fire at a shopping centre in the port city of Karachi in January.
In another 2023 Shopping Mall Fire, at least 11 people were killed in Karachi.
A minimum of 16 workers were killed in a factory fire in the same city in 2021.
A fire in a garment factory in Baldia Town, on the west side of Karachi, claimed the lives of at least 250 labourers in 2012. The building had no fire escape.
