ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar has taken notice of an April 28 incident in which the stage collapsed during an entertainment programme, causing deaths and injuries to several people.

The programme was organised by Bahria Enclave in cooperation with a private television channel.

The chief justice of Pakistan asked the Islamabad chief commissioner and inspector general of police on Friday to submit a report on the incident within 48 hours.

According to a statement issued by the Supreme Court, the notice was taken on media reports that two people were killed and dozens of others injured after the stage collapsed.

“Instead of providing medical aid to the injured people, most of the management staff escaped from the site and turned off the lights that made it difficult to carry out rescue activities. Reportedly, injured people were not provided proper medical treatment. Moreover, Islamabad administration allegedly remained silent spectator in the whole episode and seemed reluctant to take action in accordance with law,” the statement said.

An official of the Islamabad Capital Territory administration said it had begun gathering the information after receiving the court’s order and a detailed report would be submitted.

Victims’ ordeal

Meanwhile, talking to reporters at the National Press Club, several victims of the incident and their relatives urged the government to bring the culprits to justice so that such negligence was not repeated.

“The stage crash was not a very serious issue. It happens, people get injured and even causalities occur, but the criminal negligence was the indifferent attitude of the organisers who switched off the lights and escaped from the site of the entertainment show,” said Ehtesham Manzoor, who had gathered several victims to raise their voice.

One of the participants of the show, Zulqarnain, narrated his ordeal after the stage crashed: “We were all stunned and worst of all the lights went off. The organisers too went away and it took some time for me to locate my wife in the debris. But the worst part was that there was no ambulance and no support. When I took her to the Bahria dispensary there was nothing there and they told us to go to a hospital.”

His wife suffered a severe backbone injury and the lower part of her body has been rendered non-functional.

Some other people affected by the incident also spoke, demanding punishment to those responsible for ‘criminal negligence’.

The families of the victims said the organisers should support them in getting treatment for the injured. Some of them also alleged that the police were not ready to cooperate with them even so many days after the incident.

However, 13 of the victims lodged a report at the Nilor police station after the press conference.

Social activist Jibran Nasir said during the press conference that the influential and powerful organisers of the show had been able to hide the incident, but if this became a successful precedent than everybody would be at risk.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2017