ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday asked the lawyer for the victims of the Bahria Town-ARY TV show accident to assist the court on how an event management company obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the show.

IHC Justice Aamer Farooq took up a petition seeking legal action against ARY and Bahria Town for the April 28 accident, which occurred during the recording of the ARY Zindagi programme ‘Bahria Town presents Eidi Sab Kay Liye’, held at the Bahria Enclave in Islamabad.

At least one person was killed and hundreds injured when the seating stands collapsed.

Court takes up petition filed by victims of accident that left one dead, hundreds injured

In their petition, Abdul Munim Durrani and seven others alleged that after the accident, doctors at Polyclinic, Shifa International and the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) maltreated patients due to the influence of ARY and Bahria Town.

They alleged that doctors did not disclose the exact nature of their injuries to them and complained that the media did not report the incident.

The petitioners claimed that the district magistrate knew about the recording of the programme, as he had issued an NOC on April 24 to the television channel and Bahria Town.

In the terms and conditions of the NOC, it was mentioned that proper arrangements for the safety and security of the participants will be made and that the recording was being attended by nearly 3,500 people.

The programme’s organisers erected a large seating stand for guests, made of plastic and metal and consisted of several steps standing almost 20 feet tall.

At around 8pm, when the guests were seated and the programme was about to start, the entire stand collapsed, crushing hundreds of people.

Rather than helping the victims, ARY and Bahria Town allegedly made matters worse. First, rumours of an earthquake were spread and then the venue’s lights were switched off, causing panic and making it difficult for victims to be rescued from under the debris.

The victims alleged that the organisers then fled the scene, leaving the victims to their own devices. More than 150 people who had suffered injuries had to get to hospital on their own. The injuries included broken bones, spinal injuries, internal ruptures and permanent disfigurements.

The victims also alleged that the concerned hospitals maltreated patients, misreported their injuries and even discharged some patients who had sustained serious injuries, allegedly under the influence of ARY and Bahria Town.

Many victims were shocked to learn the real nature of their injuries a couple of days later, when their pain refused to subside and they went to see other doctors.

The police was also reluctant to register an FIR and did not record statements from the victims on the night of the accident.

The petitioners have alleged that after details of the incident became public, ARY and Bahria Town started threatening them and trying to force them into a settlement by offering them meagre compensations.

When they tried to register an FIR at the Nilore police station, the petitioners said they were advised by the police to settle their dispute with ARY and Bahria Town. It was only after the Chief Justice of Pakistan took suo moto notice of the incident on May 12 that an FIR was registered.

The other petitioners include Asghar Ali, Muhammad Sajjad, Muhammad Waqar, Muhammad Yasir Naeem Sheikh, Syed Wasim Abbas Kazmi, Syed Zaheer Abbas Kazmi and Talat Mehmood.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2017