Cover image: © France 24

At least 14 infants killed in Islamabad hospital fire

· France 24

At least 14 infants were killed in a fire at a ​state-run hospital in ‌Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Wednesday, the prime minister said, with the health minister ⁠attributing the tragedy to a blast in the nursery ward. The incident is among the deadliest hospital fires in recent years ‌in the country, where government healthcare is subsidised but facilities are under-resourced and overburdened. Watchdogs have frequently criticised state-run facilities as mismanaged.