In 1945, US President Harry S. Truman put a plain wooden sign on his Oval Office desk: “THE BUCK STOPS HERE”. It was a rejection of the old poker phrase “pass the buck”, meaning to pass the blame to someone else. Truman’s point was simple: the final decision, and the final blame, ends with the person in charge. Since the birth of Pakistan, we have seen various tragedies and in every case, including the most humiliating and tragic separation of our eastern wing, we are still unsure who was the main culprit, as no one had been punished for criminal negligence. Leadership is all about presenting oneself for any failure because victory has many fathers. Rarely have we seen in our life any head of Government or military taking that responsibility or ownership and surrendering his rank or appointment.

On the morning of August 26, 2026, a fire broke out in the Mother and Child Health ward on the third floor of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad. By the time the smoke cleared, 14 newborns were dead. After 14 infants died in PIMS Hospital, who takes responsibility? Parents stood on the road outside, waiting.

“For two hours I kept crying and wailing,” said Jaweria, whose days-old baby died.

“The fire erupted at 6:00 am, rescue and authorities reached at 9:00 am,” said Khurram Mehmood, who lost his 3-day-old daughter. To hell with you, rescue team and police if you can’t save a single life. Babies........

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