Murree tragedy: 22 tourists perished but no one still taking it seriously, says LHC

RAWALPINDI: Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz of the Lahore High Court (LHC), Rawalpindi Bench, has ordered the government to produce the record of Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s tweets, logbook of government vehicles and snow blowers and also the record of officers’ WhatsApp conversation during the Murree incident. The court was hearing the Murree incident case here on Monday.

The Commissioner Rawalpindi Division once again failed to produce a detailed report on the Murree tragedy. The court showed its annoyance on the irresponsible attitude of the authorities concerned and vowed to bring the case to its logical conclusion within the current week.

Advocate Shah Muhammad, the legal adviser for the district administration, and Sardar Shabbir Hussain, lawyer for the complainants, appeared before the court. The court expressed dissatisfaction on the irresponsible behavior of the local administration, Rawalpindi, and adjourned further hearing of Murree incident case till Tuesday (today).

During the hearing, the court gave strong remarks; "Twenty-two people lost their lives. But nobody cares. We will not let the Murree tragedy to be forgotten at any cost." The court repeated this sentence that 22 tourists perished but no one was still taking it seriously.The judge asked why the Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) had been removed. "Who changed the CPO and under which law?" he questioned and added that the chief secretary would be summoned if a report on transfer of officers was not produced within two days.

Justice Aziz also remarked where on earth the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had vanished when the Murree incident occurred. "Where does the PDMA get its funds from? Is the province of 120 million people being managed through WhatsApp?” he asked adding that why the people were constantly being hoodwinked.

Lawyer for complainant Hussain apprised the judge of Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry's tweets about the arrival of 100,000 vehicles in Murree at which Justice Aziz ordered to produce the record of his tweets.

The lawyer also apprised the judge of the conflicting statements about the availability of snow blowers during the Murree tragedy at which the judge ordered to produce in the court the logbook of snow blowers and government vehicles amid the tragedy. The judge also directed to produce the record of WhatsApp messages between the provincial and district officers during the Murree incident.