Business Recorder Editorials 1st September 2026

A preventable tragedy

EDITORIAL: The deaths of 14 newborn babies in the PIMS fire are too grave to be treated as another unfortunate incident followed by the familiar cycle of condolences, inquiries, and forgotten recommendations. Their deaths place a profound moral and administrative responsibility on the state to establish not only how the fire started, but why so many lives could not be saved.

The preliminary accounts point to a fire that spread with alarming speed in a nursery where several infants were dependent on oxygen. Authorities have indicated that an electrical spark or malfunctioning air-conditioning unit may have triggered the blaze, while the presence of oxygen contributed to its rapid spread. These circumstances may explain the intensity of the fire, but they do not by themselves explain the scale of the loss.

The more troubling questions concern preparedness and response. Families have alleged that the ward doors were locked, that fire-safety arrangements were inadequate and that rescuers arrived too late.

Hospital and emergency authorities have disputed aspects of these claims, including the reported response time. Such contradictions make an independent and credible investigation all the more necessary.

A hospital caring for newborns cannot afford ambiguity over emergency exits, alarms, extinguishers, evacuation routes or staff training. Neonatal wards present particular risks because patients cannot be evacuated without assistance and many require oxygen, incubators and other life-support equipment.

Fire drills and functioning safety systems in such wards are therefore not bureaucratic requirements; they are essential components of medical care.

The government has formed a fact-finding committee and suspended the federal health secretary. Yet questions of responsibility must extend beyond administrative symbolism to those directly responsible for the hospital’s day-to-day management and safety.

Administrative action will mean little if the investigation becomes an exercise in protecting institutions or individuals. The inquiry must establish a precise timeline of events and identify every failure, from maintenance and fire prevention to alarm activation, evacuation and the arrival of emergency services. It should also examine whether renovations or other work in the building affected safety arrangements.

There is also a legitimate question about the independence of the inquiry. Where officials or departments whose performance may themselves require scrutiny are connected to the investigative process, public confidence can easily be compromised.

The demand for a judicial probe and an independent audit of PIMS’ fire-safety infrastructure should therefore not be dismissed.

What happened at PIMS should become a turning point for public hospitals across the country. Every government hospital, particularly those housing neonatal and intensive-care units, should undergo an immediate independent safety audit.

Emergency exits must remain accessible, and alarms and firefighting equipment must be tested regularly.

Fourteen families have suffered an irreparable loss. No compensation, suspension, or official statement can restore their children.

The least the state owes them is the truth. Justice in this case will not be measured by how many officials are punished. It will be measured by whether the government has the courage to uncover every failure, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that our hospitals become safe because of what happened at PIMS.

No other parents should have to stand outside a hospital asking the same devastating question: “Why was my child not saved?”

What does SPI show?

EDITORIAL: For the week ending 27 August, the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), compiled and released every Friday by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), comprising 51 essentials from 50 markets in 17 cities, showed a rise of 0.05 percent with a major increase as expected on LPG (3.46 percent), diesel (2.44 percent), and electricity 2.06 percent and petrol (1.71 percent).

External factors sourced to the ongoing Middle East conflict can be held legitimately responsible for the rise in domestic prices of these four items.

Seasonal supply fluctuations with respect to perishables as well as higher costs associated with higher transport costs, were evident in some other items, though all experienced under 1 percent rise, including pulse gram (0.88 percent), wheat flour (0.39 percent), eggs (0.14 percent), and pulse mash (0.17 percent).

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the 2026 monsoon season across Pakistan has resulted in 175 fatalities and 500 injuries between June 26 and August 28, with cumulative road damage of 34.43 km and 41 bridges, but the impact on crop output has not yet been quantified as the monsoon is not over.

However, the NDMA has posted on its website that there was below-normal rainfall across major agricultural hubs, with the most significant shortages in north-eastern and central Punjab, south-eastern Sindh and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Above-normal daytime temperatures, exacerbated by dry spells, increased evaporation rate, thereby placing heavier demand on the irrigation system while the rise in humidity created ideal microclimates on leaf surfaces for fungal spores and bacteria to germinate, spreading blights, powdery mildew, and root rot.

Pakistan usually imported fertilizer from Saudi Arabia to meet its shortfall at a cost of around 150 million dollars; however, due to the Middle East crisis, greater reliance was placed on Morocco this year.

Be that as it may, the projection is that there will be a global shortage of fertilizer due to the conflict that would impact negatively on farm output throughout the world, but particularly in African countries, with some projecting shortages that would lead to a rise in food prices. In the event that food prices rise, Pakistan would not be immune to a price hike.

Data suggests that Pakistan’s annual food inflation reached 10.64 percent in July 2026, making basic items much more expensive. This partly explains the rise in perishable foods, wheat, flour, and cooking oil.

In June, food prices rose by 9.38 percent, in May by 7.93 percent, and in April by 7.63 percent.

The data for August has not yet been released and, therefore, it is possible that the rise in food prices was contained.

Food forms the largest single expenditure item for poor households; therefore, the lower the income, the higher the percentage used to procure food.

However, data released by PBS this Friday past raises some serious concerns given that SPI for lowest expenditure quintile (up to 17,732 rupees) actually declined from 350.03 for week ending on 20 August 2026 to 340.42 this week past while it declined marginally for income quintile from 17,733 to 22,888 rupees – 350.90 on week ending 20 August to 350.55 with the combined expenditure group (all quintiles), witnessing a marginal increase from 360.9 to 361.07.

Questions are increasingly being raised as to the credibility of the PBS data by independent economists, with some arguing that the inflation rate is off by 2 to 3 percentage points.

It is important to note that while political considerations may compel government entities to understate some key data with direct implications for the quality of life of the general public, deliberate manipulation constrains the government from taking appropriate mitigating measures. It is hoped that the data released by PBS is rigorously checked to ensure that the administration can take measures in a timely fashion.