LAHORE: Expressing sorrow and grief over loss of precious human lives in Murree, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Saturday that the government is taking all possible administrative measures to handle the situation and Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar also rushed to Murree to supervise rescue measures.

Addressing a news conference along with Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood on Saturday, Chaudhry Fawad appealed the public not to visit hilly areas and urged media to spread awareness in this regard.

He said record snowfall in Murree has caused this situation as rescuing affected people immediately is a tough task. He, however, said the Murree tragedy being the first unusual situation, will teach us how to move ahead to avoid such happenings in future.

He said problems persist in Bariyan and Guldana areas and work is underway to repair the faulty transmission line, and the situation is constantly improving. He added that Expressway has been cleared and all roads from Nathia Gali to KPK are clear. “We want to promote tourism but it does not mean that the people rushed to tourist spots within 48 hours,” he said. “We are fully alert and stand with the people in the hour of need.”

Fawad regretted that the opposition again tried to politicize the Murree issue. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi should rush to Murree but he addressed news conference in Islamabad, he added.

Answering a question, he said the federal government is going to move a case in the Lahore High Court for submitting a fake affidavit. “Shehbaz should be worried about his NA seat and forget about becoming PM. In this case, there is five- year disqualification.” He added that cases of Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz are in the court while Nawaz and Maryam had already been convicted.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022