SHC tells govt to ensure early DNA tests

Karachi
The Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the chief secretary, director general National Highway Authority and others on a plea seeking judicial inquiry into the superhighway traffic incident.
As many as 67 passengers were killed in a head-on collision between a bus and an oil tanker travelling on Super Highway last Sunday morning.
The court also directed the Sindh government to ensure that the DNA tests of those killed in the accident be carried out expeditiously.
The Justice Helpline, a non-government organisation, had submitted in the application that as many as 67 citizens lost their lives in road accident due to negligence of driver of the oil tanker and lack of safety measures.
The petitioner’s counsel stated that the fire tender of the Pakistan Steel Mills, which was near to the place of incident, declined to provide the service while the fire brigade station at the Cattle Colony was closed.
He added that there was an acute shortage of fire tenders in the city to tackle the fire incidents and requested the court to take the matter on judicial side as to why such incidents occurred and what steps were being taken to save the lives of the victims.
The petitioner also requested the court to direct the concerned authorities to conduct the DNA tests of the victims and give compensation to the legal heirs of the victims.
The division bench, headed by Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar, issued notices to the home secretary, secretary Regional Transport Authority (RTA), IGP Sindh, DIG traffic, director general National Highway Authority and administrator Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to submit detailed and comprehensive reports on the accident.
The court further directed the chief secretary to ensure that samples for the DNA tests were obtained and sent to the relevant testing labs in Islamabad and Lahore as early as possible, and to pursue the matter rapidly so that the reports may be obtained at the earliest.
The court ordered the concerned authorities to explain the possible cause of the accident and suggest ways and measures to prevent such occurrences in future.