Daily Times

BAHAWALPUR: Politicians expressed their condolences on the death of as many as 123 people as an oil tanker caught fire in Ahmadpur Sharqia on Sunday.

President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed grief and sorrow over the tragic incident.

In their separate condolence messages, they sympathized with the bereaved families and prayed for early recovery of the injured.

In a message, Nawaz expressed deep grief over the heavy loss of life in the unfortunate accident.

He directed the Punjab government to provide full medical assistance to the injured.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan tweeted that it is ‘shocking & heartbreaking tragedy this morning in Ahmedpur Sharkia: oil tanker blaze killing 200. A national tragedy of epic proportions.’

Imran said he has ‘asked leadership present in area to assess what assistance can be provided to the injured and to families of victims.’

PTI leader Asad Umar wrote, “Heart breaking tragedy near Ahmedpur Sharqia. Safety standards were clearly not followed by the oil tanker.”

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar expressed grief and sorrow and offered condolences to the affected families.

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri said in his message that ‘Loss of precious human lives in an accident that took place in Bahawalpur is a national tragedy.’

“May Allah Almighty grant patience to the families who lost their near and dear ones in an Oil Tanker accident in Bahawalpur.”

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Speaker and Deputy Speaker Murtaza Abbasi also expressed sorrow over the tragic incident.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday lashed out at the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government for what he described misguided priorities to spend the lion’s share of the budget on constructing roads while ignoring basic facilities.

Speaking to reporters at the site of the oil tanker blaze incident, he said that many causalities could have been averted if the administration responded timely and cordoned off the site.

“If the army had not come to the victims’ rescue and airlifted injured to CMH Multan, there were possibilities of more causalities,” he said.

Qureshi said southern Punjab continues to remain the deprived and neglected part of the province.

“South Punjab does not figure on the government’s priority list. It is being treated in a step motherly manner. The government even abandoned the projects initiated by the previous PPP government which indicates its short-sightedness.”

Published in Daily Times, June 26th, 2017.