Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said on Saturday that lessons should be learned from the Murree tragedy, saying that there was a need to devise strategies to respond to such situations effectively in the future.
While talking to reporters in Lahore, Fawad said that thousands of vehicles had entered Murree and other high places in the last 24 hours, which made it difficult for the local administration to provide facilities efficiently.
Death toll in calamity-hit Murree rises to 21
He added that the Punjab government has directed all agencies to expedite the rescue and evacuation of citizens and vehicles trapped in the snow.
The minister said it was sad that the opposition was engaged in politics over the issue.
At least 21 tourists have died in the cars stuck in Murree due to snowfall and subsequent traffic congestion.
Pakistan Army troops reached Murree to help with the rescue work. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said army engineers also reached the area to help open up the main highways.
Murree tragedy: PM orders inquiry, says rush of people caught district administration unprepared
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the district administration was caught unprepared with the rush of people in Murree, ordering an inquiry and putting in place strong regulations to ensure the prevention of such tragedies.
"Unprecedented snowfall and rush of people proceeding without checking weather conditions caught district admin unprepared," the premier said in a Twitter post on Saturday.
"Have ordered inquiry and putting in place strong regulation to ensure prevention of such tragedies," he added.
Later, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill said Murree's administration was working to clear all roads and rescue stranded tourists.
"Heavy snowfall caused the incident as it was unprecedented and beyond all projected estimates," Gill said in a message posted on the PTI's official Twitter account.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department had predicted heavy snowfall in Murree and Galiyat from January 6 to 9.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif questioned who was responsible for the deaths.
"Where do you pin the responsibility of these deaths? Where was the government all the while? What arrangements did it make to deal with such an influx? Incompetence is fast turning into criminality. Prior arrangements & round the clock supervision were the normal SOPs in the past," he tweeted.
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