LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and opposition leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has expressed his grave concern over reports that tourists are still stranded in Punjab’s hill resort, Murree.

In a statement here on Sunday, he said the Murree tragedy showed there was no such thing as government in the country ever since the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was ‘imposed’ on Pakistan.

He said the catastrophe was a testament to the fact that only incompetence, indifference, corruption and oppression prevail in the Imran-ruled Pakistan. The government should tell the truth about the Murree tragedy so that a strategy can be formulated accordingly, he demanded.

The opposition leader said instead of issuing statements, the government should take effective measures to evacuate the people trapped in Murree and other areas as there were reports of thousands of vehicles still stranded there.

He pointed out that families of stranded tourists were anxious and distressed and proposed that rescue and relief measures should be run side by side.

In addition to accommodation and food arrangements for stranded passengers, safe return to their homes should be ensured, he stressed.

Shehbaz paid tribute to the spirit of the local good people who helped those trapped in Murree and commended the relief and rescue operation of the Army and Rangers. He said the government should fulfil its constitutional, legal and administrative responsibilities instead of blaming the people.

He extended heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims. “This incident has hurt our hearts,” he said, adding that if timely steps had been taken and administrative prudence exercised, the loss of precious lives could have been avoided.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2022