KARACHI: Sindh Minis-ter for Information and Local Government Sharjeel Inam Memon has said the Timber Market fire tragedy will be investigated thoroughly and the victims who suffered losses will be compensated.

A committee led by the Karachi commissioner had been formed to investigate the cause of the fire and it would submit a report to the Sindh government within a week after assessment of losses, he said.

“Engaging in petty politics over the human tragedy is injustice with Karchiites,” said Mr Memon while speaking at a hurriedly-called press conference at the commissioner office on Sunday.

Mr Memon dismissed the allegations leveled by the MQM coordination committee as baseless and said the fire was successfully brought under control by utilising all resources available.

“However, we admit we are facing problems in the local government department. The biggest issue is of ghost employees as most of the ghost employees in the KMC, KWSB and other departments of local government belong to the MQM.

“On Dec 10, the MQM chief had himself mentioned in his speech two members of the coordination committee, Khalid Sultan and Adil Khan, who held senior posts in the KWSB,” he said.

“I am grateful to the MQM chief for directing ghost employees of his party to report for duty but …his directive has not yet been responded to,” he said.

Mr Memon said that he was revealing only the half truth at the moment and would speak the whole truth at the appropriate moment about how many ghost employees were in the local government institutions “who were or are in South Africa or Duabi but are still drawing their salaries”.

The president of PPP Karachi division chapter, Abdul Quadir Patel, who accompanied the minister at the news conference, said that whenever the PPP organised a big event such a tragedy occurred the very next day which drew attention of the media.

City commissioner Shoaib Siddiqui, Adminis-trator Rauf Akhtar Farooqui, managing director of KWSB Hashim Raza Zaidi, Deputy Commissioner South Saleem Rajput, among others were also present at the news conference.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2014