ISLAMABAD: Following his arrival in Islamabad on Friday night, Imran Khan immediately took the stage at D-Chowk and lashed out at the Punjab government and the Multan administration over the stampede at his Multan rally, which left seven people dead and several others injured.

“I was shocked to learn that several of my supporters had died in a stampede at the end of PTI rally in Multan,” Mr Khan said, adding, “This is really tragic and I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims”.

“The Multan administration did not open gates of the venue for PTI supporters, which caused the loss of precious lives. I condemn the role of the Multan administration in this incident,” he said.

“I demand that Shahbaz Sharif order an inquiry into the incident and sack those responsible,” the PTI chief said, adding that he would attend the funeral of those who lost their lives in the stampede, on Saturday.

Later, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the DCO Multan had been very uncooperative during the gathering in Multan.

“It was the responsibility of the district administration to open and close the gates of the stadium after the rally ended. But the administration turned the lights off, plunging the venue into darkness, which caused them to panic and led to the stampede,” he alleged.

Published in Dawn, October 11th , 2014