RAWALPINDI: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Monday asked a petitioner to submit the ‘overconfident’ tweet of information minister Fawad Chaudhry about tourist influx in Murree a day before the tragedy in the hill station in January this year.

The court also directed the provincial government to submit details of officers posted and transferred in Rawalpindi in the last couple of years.

LHC Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz was hearing the petition seeking an investigation into the Murree tragedy in which 22 stranded tourists died during heavy snowfall on January 8.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had suspended 15 officials in line with recommendations of a committee formed to probe the tragedy.

Legal adviser to the district administration Rawalpindi Shah Mohammad and the counsel for the petitioner appeared before the court.

The petitioner’s counsel told the court that the information minister had proudly tweeted that “Over 100,000 vehicles entered the hill station and hotels and other sectors have remarkably done well which is good for the economy”.

He argued that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) was working without any director general.

According to the counsel, suspension, posting and transfer of officials was mere an eyewash.

The court sought details of the posting and transfer of the officers and asked whether the case of the city police officer (CPO) should not have been referred to the Public Safety Commission prior to his posting.

The court also sought details of the official communication among the district and provincial officials related to the preparedness to counter any emergency situation in the hill station.

Justice Aziz directed the district administration to produce the details of the movement of official vehicles as well as snowblower trucks deployed to remove snow from the roads.

Further hearing in the matter was adjourned till Tuesday (today).

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2022