Pakpattan DHQ Hospital Case: Court Acquits CEO Health and MS in Deaths of 20 Infants
PAKPATTAN: The former Chief Executive Officer (Health) Dr. Sohail Asghar and former Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr. Adnan Ghaffar have been acquitted in a high-profile case involving the deaths of 20 babies at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Pakpattan.
It dismissed all charges against the senior health officials, finding serious problems with the registration of the criminal case, including significant gaps in evidence and procedural irregularities.
Key Grounds for Acquittal
The court, in its verdict, pointed to two main legal and technical grounds for acquitting the accused, which were:
There were no formal post-mortem reports on the children that died, and no formal medical opinion from experts of whether the deaths were caused by criminal negligence or deprivation of oxygen.
Under the mandate of the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) Act 2010, an official inquiry and formal recommendation from the commission is required prior to the registration of a criminal case against practicing medical practitioners, which was not done in this case.
Case Background and Initial Arrests
The case has been pending since July 5, 2025, when an FIR was filed after the public outrage over allegations that several infants died in the hospital’s pediatric ward due to alleged oxygen shortage and apathy of the staff.
After hearing a host of grievances from angry parents and visitors, the Chief Minister of Punjab, headed a surprise inspection which resulted in the arrest of both administrators.