ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani charity organization said on Sunday that it has buried an abandoned baby killed in the Islamabad hospital fire that earlier this week that also claimed the lives of 14 newborns, saying that the infant was laid to rest as an “unclaimed body.”
The two-month-old baby, which hospital staff had named informally as Ali, was killed on Wednesday morning when a fire broke out at the nursery of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) public hospital.
Pakistani newspaper Dawn cited hospital sources as saying that the baby was born to a 15-year-old mother. Her family left the hospital after being unable to provide the marriage documentation required by police in Pakistan for medico-legal clearance.
Shakil Ahmed, who is in-charge at Edhi Homes Islamabad branch, told Arab News the baby was handed over to the Edhi Foundation organization for funeral and burial hours after the fire broke out on Wednesday morning.
“We held the funeral at 2 p.m. the same day and buried the baby as an unclaimed body at the E-11 graveyard,” Ahmed said.
Edhi Homes are shelter facilities run by the Edhi Foundation, arguably the biggest Pakistani charity organization. With several branches across the country, Edhi Homes provide shelter, food and clothing to vulnerable people, including abandoned children, orphans, the elderly and others without family support.
Muhammad Javed Iqbal, a zonal in-charge at the Edhi Foundation, told Arab News that authorities had “verbally” handed over the child, with its documentation yet to be completed.
“Since it was an emergency, we received the body and the documentation will be completed early next week,” he said.
Public hospitals are expected to transfer legal custody of abandoned newborns to the deputy commissioner of Islamabad, the lawful custodian of unattended children. Ali remained at the hospital for more than eight weeks before the fire.
Syed Muaz Shah, a lawyer specializing in adoption and guardianship cases, told Arab News earlier this week that transferring custody takes time in Pakistan, which does not have a formal adoption law. He said even expedited cases can take six months to two years.
