The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the provincial health secretary and inspector general of police (IGP) to file comprehensive reports with regard to HIV infection in children at a Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (Sessi) hospital.
The direction came on a petition seeking the enforcement of the regulation & control of disposable syringes law and an inquiry into HIV infections in children at a Sessi hospital.
The petitioner, M Tariq Mansoor, said in his petition that several children had been affected due to the negligence of paramedical staff of Sessi’s Kulsoom Bai Valika Site Hospital in Karachi in October 2025. The children were infected due to the reuse of syringes at the hospital, he added.
He said that despite repeated reports in national media regarding the HIV outbreak, no transparent, independent or time-bound inquiry had been conducted to fix responsibility upon the officials and medical staff allegedly involved.
Mansoor said the provincial assembly had promulgated the Sindh Regulation & Control of Disposable Syringes Act, 2010, to prevent people from infection and control the spread of allied diseases.
Despite a lapse of 16 years and the promulgation of the law to curb the reuse of syringes at health care facilities, the practice of reusing syringes still existed, causing the spread of infectious diseases in patients, he added.
He informed the SHC that the government had also not framed the rules for the disposable syringes law. The petitioner requested the SHC to direct the government to enforce the law and provide proper medical treatment to patients, including the children who were infected due to the reuse of syringes at the Sessi hospital.
He also sought direction for the registration of an FIR against the officials responsible for the spread of infections, requesting the high court to direct the Sindh chief secretary to initiate a high-powered independent inquiry into the incident and fix responsibilities on the officials responsible.
The petitioner also sought a lifelong medical treatment and appropriate compensation for the affected children and enforce the provisions of the Sindh Regulation and Control of Disposable Syringes Act 2010 throughout the province.
A provincial law officer sought time to file comments on the petition. A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon directed the health secretary and IGP to submit comprehensive reports on the matter on the next hearing.
