PIMS Incident May Have Been a Trap for Imran Khan: KP CM Sohail Afridi

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi has expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of newborn babies in a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad and raised concerns that the incident could potentially have been a trap targeting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.

Addressing a ceremony, the chief minister said the newborns who died in the hospital’s nursery had nothing to do with any protest or political contest. He said the innocent children could not even speak for themselves, adding that criminal negligence was certainly involved and calling for a complete and impartial investigation into the incident.

Referring to Imran Khan’s recent medical examination, Sohail Afridi said the PTI founder had also been brought to the same hospital a few days earlier.

“Perhaps a trap had also been laid for him there so that he could be killed in an accident,” he said, adding, “Allah knows best. These people can do anything and can make any excuse.”

پمز میں جاں بحق ہونے والے یہ بچے نہ کسی احتجاج میں گئے تھے، نہ کسی جنگ کا حصہ تھے اور نہ ہی کسی جلسے میں۔ یہ تو اپنی بات بھی نہیں کہہ سکتے تھے۔ آخر کسی نہ کسی کی غفلت تو ضرور ہے۔
کچھ روز قبل عمران خان کو بھی اسی ہسپتال لایا گیا تھا۔ شاید ان کے لیے بھی کوئی جال بچھایا گیا تھا اور… pic.twitter.com/5aUNZ1lrGV

— Atta ur Rehman Kohistani (@atta__kohistani) August 26, 2026

The KP chief minister described the deaths of the innocent children as a tragic and irreparable loss and expressed heartfelt sympathy with the bereaved families. He also prayed for patience for the families of the victims.

Sohail Afridi directed the provincial Health Department to conduct a detailed audit of fire prevention and emergency preparedness arrangements in all government hospitals across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He ordered authorities to review hospital standard operating procedures (SOPs), arrange regular firefighting training and drills for staff, and submit a comprehensive report on fire safety arrangements in hospitals to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat at the earliest.

The chief minister emphasized that negligence regarding the safety of patients in hospitals would not be tolerated.