- PM asked Kamal to continue until inquiry into Pims fire concludes: sources.
- Sources say Kamal was asked not to make resignation public.
- Info Minister Attaullah Tarar says he has no resignation information.
ISLAMABAD: Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in writing within hours of the deadly fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), but the premier chose not to accept it and asked him to remain in office until completion of the inquiry, according to highly placed sources.
The sources said the minister conveyed his decision to the Prime Minister’s Office shortly after the August 26 tragedy in which 14 newborns lost their lives in a fire that erupted in the Mother & Child Health Centre at Pims.
According to the sources, the resignation was submitted in writing and was conveyed to the prime minister within hours of the incident. However, PM Shehbaz did not accept it and instead advised the health minister to wait for the findings of the inquiry committee constituted to determine the causes of the tragedy and fix responsibility.
The sources said the health minister was also asked not to make the resignation public while the inquiry was underway.
The information assumes significance because the government immediately took action against the federal Health Secretary Muhammad Aslam Ghauri following the tragedy, while Mustafa Kamal continued to hold his portfolio and subsequently appeared before parliament and the media to defend the government’s commitment to accountability.
When contacted, Mustafa Kamal did not respond to messages seeking his comment on whether he had tendered his resignation and whether the prime minister had declined to accept it.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and senior officials associated with the prime minister were also contacted for their response. They said they had no information regarding any such resignation.
The health minister has since publicly supported the inquiry into the Pims tragedy, repeatedly saying that those responsible would not be spared. Addressing the Senate, Kamal said the incident could not be allowed to become an “episode lasting merely a few days” and called for accountability as well as broader reforms in the health sector.
The development comes as the prime minister has already ordered action against senior Pims officials following the submission of an interim inquiry report. Eight officials, including the Pims executive director and senior officials of the Children Hospital and Mother & Child Health Centre, were ordered suspended and criminal proceedings were directed against them.
The interim report found serious shortcomings in the hospital’s emergency preparedness, including the absence of a detailed and properly rehearsed fire and evacuation procedure for the neonatal nursery. It also recommended further technical and forensic investigation into the precise source of the fire.
The reported resignation of the health minister, therefore, adds another dimension to the government’s handling of the tragedy. While the minister was prepared to step down immediately after the deaths, the prime minister opted to retain him until responsibility could be established through the ongoing inquiry.
However, the secretary health was allegedly prematurely removed without full information.
Originally published in The News
