The petition notes that the outbreak has killed nine children and infected more than 200 children at KBV Hospital since November 2025
A nurse takes a blood sample from a child for an HIV test at a clinic in South Africa. Photo: REUTERS/file
The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday ordered the provincial government to submit a detailed report within a fortnight in response to a petition alleging that over 200 children of industrial workers contracted the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and nine died due to negligence at a government hospital in Karachi.
The petition, filed by lawyer Tariq Mansoor, claimed that the HIV outbreak at Kulsum Bai Valika (KBV) Hospital located in the Sindh Industrial Area (SITE) was caused by the reuse of contaminated disposable syringes and gross medical negligence, leading to the spread of the infection to over 200 children, with several deaths reported.
Chief Secretary Sindh, Secretary Labor and Human Resources, Secretary Health, Chairman and Commissioner Sindh Employees’ Social Security Institution (SESSI), Medical Superintendent KBV Hospital, Medical Superintendent KBV Hospital (Suspended), Dr. Ghulam Mustufa Abro, Director General Pakistan Drug Regulatory Authority, Secretary Human Rights, Director General Health Protection Authority Childhood of Sindh, the Inspector General of Police and the Chairman of the Federal Employers’ Association of Pakistan have been named as respondents.
Separately, a letter addressed to the chief secretary and other senior government officials, dated March 31 and submitted by the lawyer, shared with The Express PK Press Clubnoted that the outbreak initially infected 84 children between November 2025 and February 2026.
KBV Hospital, functioning under the Sindh Employees’ Social Security Institution (SESSI), established under the Sindh Employees’ Social Security Act, 2016, is responsible for providing medical facilities to the insured workers and their dependents, the petition details.
Read: A 3 year old child is HIV positive
A division bench comprising Justice Adnanul Karim Memon and Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry heard the present constitutional petition, filed under Article 199 of the Constitution, for enforcement of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 4, 9, 10-A, 14, 19-A, 25, 37 and 38.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer told the court that the provincial government had been “grossly negligent and reckless” in responding to the health emergency.
He alleged that repeated use of syringes already in use at the public hospital had led to an HIV outbreak among miners.
“Nine children have died due to the HIV epidemic, while hundreds more are believed to have contracted the virus,” the petitioner argued before the SHC, adding that eight months had passed since the death of the nine children, but no legal action had been taken on their behalf.
Addressing the court, the lawyer said international organizations, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), had also expressed concern over the situation.
He stressed that the hospital saw a large number of patients daily and had a “legal duty” to provide safe and adequate medical treatment.
Recalling a notice sent on April 14 by the Directorate of Labor and Human Resources to the SESSI commissioner to provide him with a comprehensive report, the public interest lawyer said: “The investigation report was neither filed in court nor made available to any other party.”
Meanwhile, the petition also noted: “The respondents have failed to fulfill their legal and constitutional obligations by failing to conduct an independent investigation, failing to register criminal proceedings against those responsible, failing to ensure comprehensive screening and treatment of the affected patients, and failing to frame the rules contemplated in Section 10 of the Sindh Regulation and Control of Disposable Syringes Act, 2010.”
“Such inaction (…) amounts to an arbitrary exercise of authority and undermines the fundamental rights of the children concerned, their families and the general public,” we can read further.
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Advocate Mansoor lamented that only the Health Secretary is authorized to launch FIRs against suspects involved in the HIV epidemic under the applicable legal framework.
He prayed to the court that if he did not intervene, hundreds of children could lose their chance at life.
Justice Memon observed that although the matter was serious, the top provincial court was required to proceed according to established legal procedure.
He said the court would only conclude after receiving responses from all parties.
After the hearing, the court ordered the government to submit a detailed investigation report within two weeks. The bench also issued notices to the respondents seeking their responses and adjourned the hearing till July 20.
Also read: Task force plans investigation into spread of HIV
