Preliminary findings of the probe into the Murree tragedy have revealed what was already widely suspected, that the district administration and rescue officials did not discharge their duties properly or in time. It turns out that 22 out of 29 snow-removing vehicles as well as snowmobiles failed to respond promptly because drivers and other relevant staff were absent from their posts despite repeated warnings by the Met Office of a severe snowstorm. The argument that a larger than usual inflow of tourists was responsible for the traffic jam and hence the deaths also holds no water because once roads are blocked it does not really matter how many cars are on it since even a smaller number would have met the same fate. If anything, the unusual rush should have prompted officials to be on their toes, which was clearly not the case. The investigation will still take a few more days to complete, and it is expected that officials whose lack of professionalism caused such a disaster will be named and punished accordingly. It’s quite shocking that the entire civil service, with its many departments and dedicated budgets, hasn’t yet been able to implement a system that ensures smooth coordination. It’s only twice a year that places like Murree face tourist pressure, after all, and each time the entire system breaks down; only this time it went so far as to take almost two dozen lives as well. One can only assume that the government understands that even this investigation would amount to precious little if no lasting lessons are learnt from it. For if all senior officials are going to do is shed their ceremonial tears and get on with life as usual, then they’re only asking for such tragedies to repeat themselves. The real test, therefore, would be in erecting a system that ensures that such oversights never occur again. So far, though, everybody just tossing the blame from one department to another, and eventually on to the people that died themselves. That is not only very unfair, but also very unprofessional, and doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that the right conclusions are being drawn. *