Opposition grills PTI govt, holds it responsible for Murree tragedy

Opposition grills PTI govt, holds it responsible for Murree tragedy

Opposition grills PTI govt, holds it responsible for Murree tragedy

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif (Left), PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz (Centre), and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (Right). Image: File

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The leaders of the opposition parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and others criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government and held it responsible for the loss of precious lives in Murree.

Read more: Emergency declared in Murree after at least 16 die trapped in vehicles amid snowfall

Opposition Leader in the National Assembly and PML-N President, Shehbaz Sharif, said, “What a massive tragedy Murree is turning out to be! Heartbroken to learn about the loss of so many precious lives. My profound condolences & sympathies are with the bereaved families. May Allah rest the departed souls in peace!”

Pointing fingers at the government, he went on to ask, “Where do you pin the responsibility of these deaths? Where was the government all the while? What arrangements did it make to deal with such an influx?” while adding, “Incompetence is fast turning into criminality.”

Sharif said that prior arrangements and round the clock supervision were the normal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in the past.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also expressed condolences with bereaved families over the loss of lives in Murree.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the PPP chairman said that the tragedy would not have occurred if the government had informed the tourists about the extreme conditions in Murree in advance. He demanded the administration to take measures on war-footing to help the visitors.

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PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz also expressed sorrow on the Murree mishap and claimed that she never saw such chaos, apathy and incompetence and most importantly, a government that had nothing to do with the misery of the people.

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PML-N’s Hina Parvez Butt also questioned the mismanagement in handling the influx of tourists in Murree.

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“Now the question arises why preemptive measures were not taken to provide safety to the tourists if 100,000 vehicles had entered Murree?” She asked on Twitter.

Tagging the Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, she asked if the courtiers had only been inducted as ministers to count the vehicles.

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PPP Senator Rehman Malik also took to his Twitter handle to express his grief over the tragic occurrence.

“Nation is shocked to hear about the deaths in Murree. This is [the] failure of the local administration which failed to place a proper traffic control plan.”

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The Senator raised the point that why the army wasn’t called in timely to rescue the tourists and announced that a high-level inquiry committee will fix the responsibility for the failure.

Moreover, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman also mourned the death of the tourists trapped in vehicles on Twitter and wrote, “Govts surely need to be more vigilant about the flood of tourists on the Galiat routes in extreme weather.”

“Some thousand cars are still stuck on the hill station in freezing temperatures. Over 155,000 vehicles have entered Murree since Monday but only 135,000 have left so far. Weather & traffic vigilance & disaster preparedness for these roads is not new. It has to be ramped up now,” the Senator pointed out.

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She added that the government should have issued a warning to the tourists for jammed roads instead of seeking more of them.

Read more: Murree received 17 inches of snow in last 24 hours: Met office

“This is the norm in perilous weather in all such destinations. These were tragic & avoidable losses which no one intended, but no one acted in time either. Lessons need to be learnt. #MurreeAlert,” she wrote.  

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Former provincial minister and senior politician Raza Haroon blamed the federal, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governments for the tragic fatalities.

Taking to Twitter, Haroon wrote, “The federal, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments are directly responsible for the deaths and hardships of innocent civilians and tourists due to the negligence, mismanagement and highly inappropriate rescue and defunct weather warning system in Murree.”

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Murree, about 70 kilometres (45 miles) northeast of Islamabad, has long been popular for day trips from the capital. At least 21 people died after heavy snow trapped them in their vehicles as tens of thousands of visitors thronged the hill town.

The government of Punjab on Saturday also declared an emergency in Murree. The province’s chief minister office said that the hill station had been declared a “disaster area” and urged people to stay away.

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