ISLAMABAD: Two people died and one was critically injured in the fire that started in the Awami Markaz on Sunday morning. The fire also destroyed records in dozens of offices located in the building.

The fire started at around 7am on Sunday morning and was extinguished in an hour but it started again at noon due to the storm and was only controlled by around 6pm.

As many as 35 vehicles were brought in to extinguish the fire including 13 fire tenders of the Metropolitan Corporation of Islamabad and vehicles of the Pakistan Air Force and Navy.

The Awami Markaz is a five storey building, which includes a basement and four storeys, and is located in the Red Zone, at the back of the PTV building.

Ministry forms inquiry committee to determine cause of blaze, fix responsibility

“The cause of the fire could not be confirmed but it probably started due to a short circuit. There were three people inside including Ali Raza and Umar Ejaz, both in their early twenties, and Waqar. Raza and Umar jumped from the building while Waqar stayed in the building,” a police official said.

Ali Raza died due to a head injury and Waqar from suffocation, the police official said, adding that Umar Ejaz was first taken to Polyclinic and then to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

“There are 17 security guards from the AQSA Company in the building but they came outside as soon as the fire started,” he said.

An official of the Fire Brigade also confirmed that two people had died and one was injured in the fire. He also said seven people were rescued from the roof of the building.

“When it first started, the fire was controlled in an hour and the process of cooling was going on but at noon, the storm spread the fire again and it could not be extinguished till evening,” he said,

Pims Administrator Dr Altaf Hussein said 23-year-old Umar Ejaz was brought to the hospital from Polyclinic with a head injury, a pelvic fracture and internal abdominal injuries.

“He jumped from the building and is in shock. He is being taken care of and is in critical condition,” he said.

An official of the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration said there was no need for performing a post-mortem on the victims as they died in an accident and that the bodies will be handed over to the families.

He said it was decided that nearby buildings would also be evacuated when the fire started in case the Awami Markaz building falls.

In response to media reports, a spokesperson of the Planning Commission said that the ministry’s unit, which is located on the fifth floor, remained safe from the fire. He said the office was used to conduct research on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), adding that research data was uploaded to a server and that official records and files regarding CPEC were not stored in this unit.

“All the record and data regarding CPEC is placed at the Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform and line ministries” he said.

Capital Development Authority (CDA) spokesperson Mazhar Hussein told Dawn the offices on the second, third and fourth floors were completely destroyed and that there was a possibility records in the Federal Tax Ombudsman’s (FTO) office were not destroyed as they were on the ground floor.

He said the CDA was not considering holding an inquiry into the matter as the building is not in CDA control.

However, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Industries and Production, a committee has been formed to find the cause of the fire and fix responsibility. The eight-member committee includes government officials, an FTO representative and representatives from Nespak and the private companies housed in the building.

The committee is tasked with finding the cause of the fire and if there was any “mischief or sabotage”. It is also to determine the extent of damage to the building and the records of tenant organisations, loss of human life, the role of first response authorities in tackling the fire. The committee will be submitting its findings and recommendations within 72 hours.

According to a police official, the AQSA Company, Federal Tex Ombudsman, Swati Corporation, ORAtech, MOBI, SMART Company, Think Tech, EDS, TalcoJacks, EDS, NPO, Alfajar, Knowledge Platform, PIDC, State Agency and other companies have their offices in the Awami Markaz.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2017