A Karachi counsel acting for children who contracted HIV at Social Security facilities has asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to create a federal inquiry panel into the reported infections at two SESSI hospitals.
What Tariq Mansoor is asking for
In written appeals to the premier and other offices, advocate Tariq Mansoor pressed for an independent body under the Commission of Inquiry Act 2017. He wants that panel to examine infections linked to Kulsum Bai Valika Social Security Hospital in SITE and the Landhi Social Security Hospital. His letter puts the Valika-linked child caseload at roughly 169 to over 200, with about nine fatalities noted, and ties more than 16 infections to the Landhi site.
Mansoor alleges grave care failures, weak administration and possible rule-breaking inside the hospitals and the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI)—the provincial body that runs these facilities for insured workers. He wants a full forensic review of SESSI clinics and hospitals going back two decades, and for medical files, drugs, devices, stock and related papers to be secured and checked so the facts can be established.
Screening, syringes and emergency powers
The counsel also argues that weak patient screening from 2024 through August 2026 may have helped HIV spread. He wants checks on whether infection-control rules, domestic statutes and global health norms were observed, including Sindh’s 2010 law on disposable syringes. Separately, he asked Islamabad to declare a medical emergency for Sindh’s public hospitals and primary care centres, saying an independent probe is needed to fix responsibility and stop further transmission.
He maintains the inquiry should identify who is answerable, examine the circumstances of the deaths, and ask whether faster medical response might have limited harm.
Pressure in the Sindh Assembly
Before the lawyer’s letter, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan lawmaker Muhammad Aamir Siddiqui filed a resolution notice with the Sindh Assembly secretary seeking an independent commission over the Valika hospital reports. Mansoor’s demand goes further by naming both hospitals, seeking a federal-level probe, and calling for a long-range audit of SESSI.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 2024 to August 2026: Mansoor’s letter flags possible gaps in patient screening in this period as a factor in spread.
- Earlier: MQM-P MPA Muhammad Aamir Siddiqui lodged a Sindh Assembly resolution notice for an independent look at Valika HIV reports.
- Monday: Tariq Mansoor wrote to the prime minister seeking a federal inquiry commission and related steps.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Karachi ke Social Security hospitals mein bachon ko HIV lagne ki khabarain hain. Unke wakeel ne wazir-e-azam se federal inquiry maangi hai. Valika hospital par lagbhag 169 se 200 se zyada bachon ka zikr hai, aur Landhi par 16 se zyada cases. Asli wajah aur zimmedari abhi inquiry se hi clear hogi.
