Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Monday demanded formation of a judicial commission to fix responsibility of the Murree snowfall tragedy that claimed around 22 lives over the weekend.
Speaking in the House after both the treasury and opposition benches agreed to suspend the scheduled agenda and hold a debate on the tragedy, the opposition leader criticised the government over its failure in handling the situation.
“There was heavy snowfall, but there was no one to ask about the people. Innocent children, the youth and the elderly died and nobody asked about their [well-being] for 20 hours.”
“The reality is that there were no arrangements in place,” he said, adding that traffic officials and authorities responsible for removing the snow were not present.
“People kept asking for help but no one showed up […]. This was a criminal act of negligence and inefficiency and cannot be pardoned. When the Met Office had warned of excessive snowfall, what measures did the government take?”
He suggested for passing a resolution on the conclusion of the debate and formation of a judicial commission to investigate the Murree incident, fix responsibility and award exemplary punishment to all those found negligent.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari thanked National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar for specifying the sitting to debate the Murree tragedy.
He alleged that there was delay in provision of assistance to the deserted tourists and demanded strict action against those involved in negligence.
He also supported the demand of opposition leader to conduct a judicial inquiry into the incident. He also criticised the government over inflation in the country.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Salahuddin said the Murree administration was responsible of the incident and strict action should be taken against the negligent officials.
Parliamentary Leader of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan Asad Mehmood said the the JUI-F workers and its volunteer organisation participated in the relief activities.
No standard operating procedures were issued after the Met Office’s heavy snowfall warnings, he said and demanded to conduct a judicial inquiry into the incident.
Responding to Shehbaz, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain regretted that leader of opposition has nothing to offer except jugglery on the Murree snowfall tragedy.
The minister said Shehbaz is a ‘habitual juggler’, who should have avoided doing politics on tragedies.
Shehbaz, he said, remained in power for almost 30 years but could not become a leader.
Had the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) executed development projects across Punjab, including Murree, during its governments, today the people would not have faced such a tragedy, he said.
The Sharif family had just focused on building their own empires as all kinds of development had remained limited to their homes, he added.
The minister said no other political party except the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) participated in the rescue and relief operation carried out by different departments.
Fawad said everyone is saddened over the Murree tragedy, adding that the PTI’s leadership and local workers remained actively engaged with the rescue and relief teams for safe and timely evacuation of the snow-trapped people.
“We are proud that our workers, including the Punjab chief minister, federal ministers, MNAs and MPAs of PTI, stood with the people in Murree,” he said acknowledging the services of civil administration, Pakistan Army and other institutions for conducting a swift rescue operation in Murree and evacuating trapped people.
In contrast, he said, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and PML-N workers were not seen in Murree as they did not bother to go there.
The minister said around 164,000 vehicles had entered Murree in five days, adding that the rescue operation was carried out within 24 hours and all the roads were cleared without any undue delay.
He said the PTI government is clearing the fuss created by the past regimes in every field, including economy, administration and tourism.
