After two express trains crashed in Sindh’s Ghotki, leaving at least 41 passengers dead and over 100 injured, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said on Monday that the Federal Minister for Railways should not be penalised for the blunders of former railways minister Saad Rafique.
“I can’t comment on the cause of the crash right now, rescue operations are underway at the scene, and a preliminary investigation has begun,” Fawad remarked on a Geo News programme.
What can Azam Swati do, said Fawad. The minister’s role is limited to describing the issues and proposing solutions.
The current government’s issues, according to Fawad, are the result of prior governments’ policies.
“What did they do to address the problems when they were in power for such a long time?”
According to the information minister, once the ML-1 project is completed, accidents would be reduced.
Saad Rafique’s response
Saad Rafique accused the government of compromising the safety of the passengers aboard the Millet express, due to the lack of money spent on maintenance. He clarified that during the tenure of PMLN there was regularly scheduled maintenance, currently, there is no maintenance being done especially to the locomotives. The railway budget has been cut by 60-65%.
The Ghotki track needs regular maintenance. The Ghotki area was part of our priority in our framework. In the last 3 years, no work has been done. If this continues safety will be compromised in the future as well especially if funds are not generated for ML1.
He challenged the current government “flopped” in carrying out the CPEC project for the railway.
He further prayed for the departed souls and advised the government on taking responsibility instead of the previous government.