The Islamabad High Court on Friday issued a notice to the federal government and asked to hold independent inquiry into the Tezgam train fire incident.
At least 74 people were killed and dozens other got injured on Oct 31 after fire erupted in the train near Rahim Yar Khan's Liaquatpur area. The Tezgam train was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi when the gas cylinder carried by a passenger reportedly exploded, killing and injuring passengers.
A single-judge bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani heard the petition seeking removal of Sh Rashid Ahmed and an independent inquiry under the Pakistan Commissioner Inquiry Act 2017 for the Oct 31 tragedy.
The bench directed the federal government to submit reply by Nov 22.
The petitioner pleaded that the federal minister has claimed that the fire broke out when some passenger attempted to cook food using a cylinder in the moving train. He said both the parties should be heard under Section 24-A of the General Clauses Act 1897.
"Moreover a man who believes in unilateral view is not righteous within the definition of Article 62(I) (1) of the 1973 Constitution," stated the petition, adding that the railways minister had lost "legal, religious, ethical and constitutional" justification to remain in office after believing in one-sided view - that of the train officials - and officiating a response without the completion of the inquiry.
The petitioner also questioned why still Prime Minister Imran Khan has not asked Sh Rashid to resign. He submitted that in the past, when Khan was not prime minister, he had urged ministers to resign to ensure transparent inquiries.
"Improvements always come with the realisation of shortcomings and strong commitment to overcome these but the unilateral stance of railways minister before the inquiry has made it impossible to fix the liability of Tezgam inferno incident on the railways officials," stated the petition. He stressed that no 'meaningful' reforms could take place in such a situation. "The promise to pay compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased and injured would remain a political commitment as there are many examples where promises are yet to be fulfilled."
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