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Mirali Health Clinic Faces Probe After Five Newborn Deaths, Pay Cuts

The Mirali health clinic run under the Maryam Nawaz Health Clinic programme is facing an official inquiry after five newborns died at the facility in September, alongside allegations of salary deductions, substandard medicines and interference by an outsider with no official role.

Three employees of the clinic in Mirali have been dismissed as the District Health Authority Vehari investigates the complaints. The case raises hard questions about oversight in the province’s rebranded rural health network.

Five deaths in sixteen deliveries at the Mirali health clinic

The core allegation is stark. Five newborns died during or shortly after 16 normal deliveries at the clinic in September 2026 — nearly one in three. The complaint alleges that normal deliveries were prioritised even where complications existed, because the facility received payments for them.

Those circumstances are yet to be independently established, and readers should treat that allegation as unproven until the inquiry reports. But the raw numbers alone — five dead newborns in a single month at one small clinic — explain why the health authority moved.

The complaint: pay cuts, pressure and an outsider’s interference

Local resident Irfan Mahmood Khan filed the complaint with the District Health Authority Vehari against the clinic’s health manager, Dr Sobia Iqbal. The allegations go beyond the deaths:

• Salary deductions since May 2025. Lady health visitors Kainat, Rabia Zahoor and Farwa Raza, and dispenser Muhammad Shahid, were allegedly paid Rs30,000 a month instead of Rs43,000. Watchman Sahib Yar and naib qasid Muhammad Ilyas were allegedly paid Rs25,000 instead of Rs40,000.
• Employees were allegedly pressured to transfer money to an online account belonging to Muhammad Iqbal — the health manager’s father — who allegedly interfered in the clinic’s administration despite holding no official position.
• Staff were allegedly pressured to sign the salary register and give thumb impressions on October 5, without the amounts being recorded.
• Medicines supplied to the clinic were alleged to be substandard.

Each of these is an allegation under inquiry, not an established finding. The dismissals and the inquiry itself, however, are confirmed.

The inquiry so far

On October 3, a team visited the clinic as part of the investigation: District Health Authority Vehari CEO Dr Fahad Waheed, District Coordinator IRMNCH Dr Syed Ali Raza, and Deputy District Health Officer Dr Dur Zainab.

What that visit produced — a report, recommendations, or referrals for criminal proceedings — has not yet been made public. That is the next thing to watch: whether the inquiry ends with administrative action alone or goes further.

Why this case matters beyond Mirali

The Maryam Nawaz Health Clinic programme rebranded the province’s basic health units with a promise of better care. The provincial government has invested heavily in the health push — Maryam Nawaz recently launched mobile health units meant to serve 4.6 million industrial workers and their families.

But rebranding means little if the clinics themselves are unsafe. Five newborn deaths in a month at one facility, combined with claims that staff pay was skimmed for over a year, point to a supervision failure, not just one bad manager. The DHA Vehari inquiry will show whether the system can police itself — or whether the next complaint will have to come from another grieving family.

Health-sector accountability has been in the news for other reasons too, from the LHC ordering heart medication for a detainee to courts scrutinising how suspects are treated in custody. The Mirali case belongs in that same frame: the state’s duty of care, tested where it is weakest.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened at the Mirali health clinic?

Five newborns died during or shortly after 16 normal deliveries at the Maryam Nawaz Health Clinic in Mirali in September 2026. The District Health Authority Vehari is investigating, and three employees have been dismissed.

What are the salary allegations?

Staff allege their pay was cut from May 2025 — lady health visitors and a dispenser paid Rs30,000 instead of Rs43,000, and support staff paid Rs25,000 instead of Rs40,000. They also allege pressure to transfer money to an outsider’s account.

Who is investigating?

The District Health Authority Vehari, whose CEO Dr Fahad Waheed visited the clinic on October 3 with senior district health officials.

Has anything been proven?

No. The deaths, dismissals and inquiry are confirmed; the specific allegations about prioritised deliveries, skimmed salaries and substandard medicines remain under investigation.