A sessions court in Pakpattan on Monday acquitted two senior health officials in a case pertaining to the deaths of 20 children at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital last year, finding them not guilty in the case.
As per the details, Additional Sessions Judge Asad Hafeez acquitted former medical superintendent (MS) Dr Adnan Ghaffar and former health chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Sohail Asghar.
The case had been registered at City Police Station after the deaths in June 2025.
The officials had been arrested on July 4, 2025, on orders of Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz during an unannounced inspection of the hospital.
The action came after the CM received complaints from patients and attendants about inadequate treatment and the unavailability of medicines.
She ordered action against hospital officials during the visit, after which both men were handcuffed.
The deaths, most of which involved newborns, had initially been associated with an alleged shortage of oxygen at the hospital.
A subsequent preliminary inquiry presented a different account of the circumstances surrounding a number of the deaths.
The inquiry, prepared jointly by the Punjab Health Department and the Sahiwal commissioner’s office, found that several infants had developed complications during deliveries at private maternity clinics or after being attended by untrained midwives.
The report also noted that a number of critically ill newborns reached the DHQ Hospital only after their conditions had become severe, limiting the prospects of effective treatment.
Officials further found that some newborns were brought to the hospital without their mothers, creating additional difficulties in managing their cases.
Four private hospital were also subsequently sealed by the health department.
