ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution expressing concern over the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) tragedy that killed 14 newborns and the administrative negligence linked to the deaths. The resolution was moved by Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights Chairman Barrister Daniyal. The NA witnessed demands for accountability, an independent inquiry and greater transparency following, as lawmakers raised questions over the hospital’s safety arrangements and the government’s response to the tragedy. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the federal government had announced financial assistance of Rs5 million for the victims’ families and informed the House that a committee meeting had been scheduled for Monday. The Minister of State for Interior would present a report on the incident at the meeting, he said, urging lawmakers to attend and submit their recommendations. Asif said parliament had a responsibility to ensure accountability, particularly where negligence was involved. He noted that inquiries into several previous tragedies had remained pending for years, arguing that delays could cause public attention to fade. “Once an inquiry begins, its timeline is deliberately extended so that the incident fades from people’s minds,” he said. He said the PIMS tragedy should not be reduced to periodic expressions of grief and called for accountability to follow the incident. Asif also proposed that the committee proceedings be conducted openly so that the public could see parliament holding those responsible to account. Meanwhile, PPP MNA and Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Health Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani said the committee had visited PIMS a day earlier and found discrepancies in the accounts provided by doctors, nurses and other hospital staff.