- Mall officials made the choice to sue the district administration in court.
- Assert that the district government impeded firefighting efforts.
- The AJK PM’s aide warns the federal administration against “political victimisation.”
The special assistant to the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) voiced worry on Monday that the fire at the well-known Islamabad mall owned by AJK PM Sardar Tanveer Ilyas may be the consequence of “political victimisation.”
On Sunday, a fire broke out in the food court of a well-known shopping mall in Islamabad, but it was quickly “under control” when emergency personnel arrived.
According to Islamabad police, when the rescue operation was over, the building was closed on the deputy commissioner’s orders.
It also said that the mall’s structure will be closed until the inquiry into the event was finished. The building would remain closed to the public until then.
In response to the conflict between the federal government and the region’s ruling PTI, the AJK PM’s advisor remarked, “It is believed that [the federal government] is engaging in political victimisation in light of the current conditions.”
He accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah of involvement in the mall fire, claiming that the federal government “wants to make it a bigger problem than the Model Town fire.”
Ali Shan, the AJK food minister, warned that if the mall was not reopened, a sit-in will be organised.
The minister said that they came to offer their support for the AJK premier and did not want to politicise the matter.
Mall’s Management Decides To Go To Court
Meanwhile, the mall’s management has decided to sue the district government for allegedly taking too long to extinguish the fire. They alleged that the equipment used by the district administration was broken.
The administration officials also said that when they raised attention to the delay in putting out the fire, the district administration was dismissive.
The mall’s general manager, Amir Khawaja, told Geo News that a fire broke out in the food court’s kitchen but that no one was injured.
He pointed out that just one shop had been damaged.
According to Khawaja, they will investigate the incident and report back to the media. He said that Pakistanis residing in other countries had invested in this mall.
We don’t want to go into politics since this is a subject that impacts people’s lives, said Khawaja.
He voiced his anger with the district administration’s eviction of plaza inhabitants, which included patients.
Registered Instance
SHO Mateen Chaudhry charged the fire incident under Section 436 at the Margalla Police Station.
According to the FIR, the unidentified persons set fire to the shop complex for an unknown cause.
According to the report, Tower A was on fire and rescue personnel were attempting to extinguish it.
Created A Committee
Later that day, the Islamabad District Magistrate’s Office issued a notice appointing a seven-member fact-finding panel to investigate the cause of the incident.
The committee’s responsibilities include assessing if the building’s fire alarm system and equipment were operational, as well as identifying any potential hazards or contributory aspects that may have led to the fire’s spread.
It will also look at if the management has recently conducted any simulated exercises and assess the extent of the damage.
The committee has three days to complete the tasks.
The committee will be led by Islamabad’s additional district magistrate, with the assistant commissioner for Sector I, Rawalpindi’s district emergency officer, three CDA workers, and any other coopted official serving as members.
