Murree snowstorm deaths: Shehbaz demands judicial commission

Islamabad: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif Monday demanded the constution of a judicial commission to probe the Murree incident and hold those responsible accountable.

He also favoured in passage of a resolution by the House in this regard.

The PML-N president put the demand while speaking on the floor of National Assembly.  He castigated the government for its "criminal negligence" in dealing with the events that lead to the deaths of at least 22 tourists in Murree over the weekend.

The House session was originally called in to discuss the controversial Finance (Supplementary) Bill, also dubbed by the opposition as the mini-budget. However, the discussion was deferred for tomorrow.

As NA Speaker Asad Qaiser allowed to discuss the tragic incident in Murree, Shehbaz started his speech by castigating 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."

Shehbaz questioned whether the incident was a "natural" occurrence or "manslaughter".

"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 crying 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?"

If there was an influx of tourists flocking to the hill station, what steps did the government take to deter them, he asked. "Was a red alert issued? You can't hide from the facts."

Shehbaz stated that this was not the first time that it had snowed in Murree or the first time that tourists had inundated the hill station. He said that people were unable to visit for the past two years due to the pandemic, but their happiness had turned into sorrow due to the government's "corrupt approach, worst criminal negligence and administrative inefficiency".

He said that the entire country was grieving but government officials were not bothered. "They said that the administration was not prepared. If that was the case then what are you there for? Resign and go home."

Shehbaz said that a sitting minister had also commented during this period about how good the country's economy was doing which was evident in the way thousands were going to Murree.

His comment was an apparent reference to remarks made by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry in which he had linked the rise in tourists to the people's economic prosperity.

"There was no place in Murree's hotels. When this incident occurred one Nero was asleep in Islamabad and the other was busy rigging [the polls]."

He said that the government was giving excuses when it was responsible for putting preventive measures in place. "There was SOPs in place for several years. The PML-N government had procured and installed machinery funds were issued to departments to store salt. There was a supervisory committee and the traffic police was assigned responsibilities."

He alleged that the government dealt with the incident in the same way it was handling the country. "I believe this is a criminal act," Shehbaz said, reiterating that the PML-N government used to have steps in place to combat snowfall in Murree.

He said the government was "100 per cent responsible" for the deaths of the tourists. "The nation will not forgive them and will hold them accountable."

The PML-N leader also called the committee formed to investigate the incident a "joke".