A horrifying medical scandal is unfolding in Pakistan, and the details are nothing short of disturbing.
In the city of Taunsa, located in the central Punjab province, a public hospital is now at the center of a growing crisis after an investigation uncovered what appears to be a catastrophic breakdown in basic medical safety. According to a bombshell report from the BBC Eye team, at least 331 children tested positive for HIV between November 2024 and October 2025 — and many of those cases are now being linked to a single facility: THQ Taunsa Sharif hospital.
The investigation, which involved just 32 hours of undercover filming, revealed repeated and dangerous practices that experts say could easily spread deadly infections. In at least 10 documented instances, hospital staff were seen reusing the same syringe on a multi-dose vial. Even more alarming, in four of those cases, that same vial was then used on multiple children.
Families say they watched it happen in real time.
“They filled the same syringe and gave it to one child, then filled it again and gave it to another,” one relative of an infected child said.
That practice alone could be enough to trigger a chain reaction of infections. Medical experts warn that even if a new needle is attached, the syringe itself can still carry contaminated blood.
“Even with a new needle, the syringe body can still transmit the virus,” infectious disease specialist Altaf Ahmed explained.
In simple terms, one infected patient could unknowingly spread HIV to several others — all through a single contaminated vial.
Despite the shocking footage, hospital leadership is pushing back. Qasim Buzdar, the facility’s current medical superintendent, suggested the video evidence may have been staged. Even more controversially, he reassured concerned parents that the hospital is safe and encouraged them to continue seeking treatment there.
But this isn’t the first time concerns have been raised. A previous administrator was reportedly removed after similar practices were uncovered at a private clinic in late 2024.
Now, with hundreds of children affected, questions are mounting over accountability and oversight — and whether anything will actually change.
For the families involved, the damage is already done.
