PM takes notice of Srinagar Highway accident

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz Tuesday said Prime Minister Imran Khan took strict notice and condemned in strong words the incident in which a squad of vehicles jumped the light here and resulted in loss of lives.

He added that the prime minister instructed the federal and provincial governments to strictly discourage use of security and protocol squads on roads which create a culture of fear and impunity. He pointed out that a mechanism was already in place under which committees recommended bullet proof cars and security staff for vulnerable citizens.

Meanwhile, Federal Ombudsperson for Harassment of Women at Workplace Kashmala Tariq urged the law enforcement agencies and media to dig out the true information regarding the accident that took place on Srinagar Highway, Islamabad. “My husband and son were not involved in catastrophic road accident, where four people lost their lives and two others were injured,” Kashmala Tariq said at a press conference here.

She said that media was not portraying true picture and spreading sensation. She said that police and law enforcement agencies must gather facts from the incident site and Safe City Project and FWO’s CCTV footages can also provide help for getting true picture on the incident.

The former lawmaker said her family called ambulance and also visited police station. She said her son Azlan was not on driving seat when the accident happened. She said that she fought for women’s rights and now she is facing harassment and discrimination from some quarters. On Monday night, four young men were killed and two others were wounded when a recklessly driven heavy vehicle, Lexus crushed a Suzuki Mahran and a bike on Srinagar Highway at G/11.

The vehicle driver was identified as Azlan, son of Kashmala Tariq. Ramna Police have registered an FIR and nominated Azlan as accused, but arrested another person who was presented as an accused of the accident. SSP (Operations) Mustafa Tanveer told The News that the Ramna Police registered the case. The case was registered on the complaint of Mujeebur Rehman, who was injured in the accident and sitting on the front seat with the driver. According to the FIR, four friends who died in the accident had come to Islamabad from Mansehra to be interviewed for recruitment in the ANF. A fifth friend of Mehran car and a motorcyclist are currently in hospital with serious injuries.

Driver Fiaz tried to escape but police arrested him and shifted to Ramna Police Station. All the vehicles involved in the accident were also shifted to police station. Police raided several places but due to the police pressure, the accused surrendered before the court of law and got anticipatory bail.