PPP, SCBA demand judicial probe into Murree tragedy

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party has rejected the enquiry committee formed by the federal government to probe the causes and lapses of Murree tragedy and has demanded a judicial commission to be constituted to determine the lapses.

“We do not have trust on government’s enquiry committee on Murree incident and a judicial commission does not require any paperwork and the chairman of PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also demanded that a judicial commission would be formed in order to probe the Murree tragedy while that incident occurred due to the incompetence of the federal government and district administration,” said PPP Parliamentarians Information Secretary Shazia Marri while addressing a press conference here Tuesday outside the Parliament House.

She said that the statement of the Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on the Murree incident was an non-serious move and it was surprising and shameful that a federal government's minister expressed his happiness over the influx of millions of tourists and hundreds of vehicles at Murree before the Murree incident while measures for relief activity wouldn't carry out.

Shazia Marri said that government has become callous and has no sentiments over deaths of innocent people and said that the current rulers should be held responsible for their negligence in the Murree tragedy and federal government didn't anything for the victims of the Murree incident and the voice notes of martyrs were the proofs of negligence and failure of the federal government.

She said that we will not score political points on this tragic incident but federal government has become cruel and hard-hearted and even after passing 18 hours of that incident, relief work was not carried out at the part of the government.

Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), meanwhile, also demanded judicial inquiry in the Murree tragedy and has condoled with the families of victims who lost their lives in it.

In a statement issued here, the SCBA while rejecting the preliminary "hoodwinked" investigation report issued in wake of Murree incident, called to "Conduct Judicial Inquiry" to ascertain as well as to fix liability upon those responsible for shocking failure of simple administration and to determine that why the timely precautionary measures have not been adopted and why the tourists were permitted to enter hillside station and left alone being stranded to death, despite of the early shallow weather warnings being issued by the Met department.

It said that this tragic incident has yet again unfolded another unfortunate episode, showcasing the government's criminal negligence, lack of administrative aptitude and incapacity of handling simple state of affairs.