LAHORE: Senior leaders of all political parties on Sunday expressed their deep grief over the heavy loss of human lives in the oil tanker fire tragedy at Ahmadpur Sharqia, Bahawalpur.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf senior leaders Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Jahangir Tareen, Shafqat Mahmood, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, Abdul Aleem Khan, Chaudhry Sarwar, Ejaz Chaudhry, Dr Yasmin Rashid and Dr Nausheen Hamid have expressed their deep condolences on the tragic death of 128 people in Bahawalpur. Over a hundred people were injured, including those having critical burn injuries.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has sent a senior leaders’ delegation to visit the patients injured in the oil tanker incident in Ahmadpur Sharqia. PTI leaders Jahangir Tareen, Abdul Aleem Khan and Ishaq Khakwani left for Bahawalpur on a plane. The PTI’s divisional and district organisations in Bahawalpur had also been asked to visit the families of those dead and injured.

PTI MNA and central information secretary Shafqat Mahmood said the area of the accident in Bahawalpur should have been cordoned off and people be stopped from coming near the spilling oil tanker. He regretted that the hospital facilities were also inadequate telling the bad governance of the PML-N government in Punjab. He said many deaths could have been avoided, if the government had responded to the accident promptly.

PTI Central Punjab president Aleem Khan said the non-availability of a burn unit in Bahawalpur and Lodhran had posed a question to the performance of the Punjab government. Acknowledging that it is not a time for political scoring, he said the PML-N had been holding the reign of power in Punjab since 1985 but it failed to provide healthcare facilities to masses. He stressed that the government should utilise all of its resources to provide medical relief to masses.

Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, urged the nation to observe Eidul Fitr in a simple manner in the wake of the oil tanker fire tragedy.

He demanded that the government investigate the incident and fix responsibility. He said the incident could be an act of sabotage.

JAMAAT-I-ISLAMI: JI Emir Senator Sirajul Haq and acting chief Liaquat Baloch have expressed deep grief over the oil tanker tragedy.

They prayed for those killed in the tragedy as well as for early recovery of the injured. They also offered deep sympathies to the bereaved families.

PPP: Pakistan Peoples Party leaders Bilawal Bhatto Zardari, Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Chaudhry Manzoor, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Usman Malik and Saleem Bhatti have condoled the death of people in the oil tanker incident.

Expressing sympathies with the affected families in Bahawalpur, the PPP leaders have called for an investigation into the incident to fix responsibility that led to such a heavy death toll.

PML-Q: The PML-Q said many lives in the Bahawalpur tragedy could have been saved had the Shahbaz administration completed its (PML-Q government) burn centre projects in Multan and other areas of southern Punjab.

“Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has no priority for health and hospitals because he is only interested in ‘dollar-making projects’. He always makes hollow promises. He is least concerned about safeguarding the life and property of the people and their welfare and well-being,” it said here on Sunday.

The party said the huge funds wasted on Jangla Bus (metro) should have been spent on upgradation of hospitals.

PML-Q leaders Chaudhy Shujaat Husain, Pervaiz Elahi and Moonis Elahi have expressed their heartfelt grief and sorrow over the incident and prayed for early recovery of the injured.PML-Q leaders contacted MNA from Bahawalpur Tariq Bashir Cheema and inquired about details of the tragedy and also directed him to remain in contact with the affected people and fully cooperate with them.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2017