Tag: murree

  • ‘Heart wrenching’: Pakistani notables react after 21 stranded tourists die in Murree

    ‘Heart wrenching’: Pakistani notables react after 21 stranded tourists die in Murree

    Several Pakistani notables took to their social media after 21 stranded tourists died in Murree on Saturday.

    All the routes in Murree were blocked after thousands of vehicles entered the city, leaving tourists helpless on the roads.

    Pakistani actor Ayesha Omar wrote: “The scenario in murree is #Heartbreaking. My heart goes out to the families who have lost their loved ones and also all the hundreds of people who were stranded all night. It’s horrific. May Allah bless the souls of the ones departed.”

    Similarly, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, taking to Twitter, said: “I am very shocked & sad to see the heart wrenching images/videos coming from Murree, stay safe everyone, my heart goes out to the families of the deceased, May The Almighty bless the departed souls…”

    Pakistani cricketer Kamran Akmal, singer turned actor Junaid Khan, director Nabeel Qureshi, author Fatima Bhutto, actors Faysal Quraishi, Ahmad Ali But and Usman Mukhtar took to their social media to express their thoughts on the dreadful event.

    The Punjab government has declared Murree as a calamity-hit area after heavy snowfall wreaked havoc in the city. Taking notice of the chaos and emergency situation, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has directed to open the government’s offices and rest houses for the stranded tourists.

  • Murree: PM Khan says extreme snowfall, people not checking weather left administration unprepared

    Murree: PM Khan says extreme snowfall, people not checking weather left administration unprepared

    After several hours to the tragic deaths in Murree, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan took to Twitter to express his thoughts.

    “Shocked and upset at tragic deaths of tourists on road to Murree. Unprecedented snowfall and rush of people proceeding without checking weather conditions caught district admin unprepared. Have ordered an inquiry and putting in place strong regulations to ensure the prevention of such tragedies,” he tweeted.

    His statement came after Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid blamed people for coming to Murree.

    “Nothing went wrong. People came in large numbers. We need to construct two or three Murree’s, three or four Nathia Gali’s. We need to understand that Murree alone cannot bear the weight of tourism,” said Rashid.

    Currently, an emergency has been declared in Murree by Punjab Government and 21 deaths have been reported so far.

    Twitter is disappointed with PM Khan’s statement with many saying that the PM is blaming the victims.

    https://twitter.com/qaisarwali/status/1479763592488513538?s=20

  • Interior Minister blames tourists, says nothing would have happened if help arrived earlier, busy taking selfies

    Interior Minister blames tourists, says nothing would have happened if help arrived earlier, busy taking selfies

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid while speaking with Geo News said that people still want to go to Murree but we will not let them.

    “Nothing went wrong. People came in large numbers. We need to construct two or three Murree’s, three or four Nathia Gali’s. We need to understand that Murree alone cannot bear the weight of tourism,” said Rashid.

    “Murree is not under me, it comes under Punjab, yet I sealed it yesterday around 5pm,” said the minister.

    Sheikh Rashid, when asked if the government had taken necessary precautions and cautioned citizens would the situation have been better, responded negatively and said, “Nothing would have happened if they [government] were there.”

    “People want to sleep in their cars. They are fighting with us right now, [to be removed]. We took them out with such difficulty. They should see the conditions, and yet they have taken small children with them,” said Rashid, adding, ” they are busy taking selfies.”

  • Politics on Murree tragedy: Opposition criticises PTI for negligence, incompetence

    Politics on Murree tragedy: Opposition criticises PTI for negligence, incompetence

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, condemning the massive tragedy in Murree said, “What a massive tragedy Murree is turning out to be! Heartbroken to learn about the loss of so many precious lives.”

    Taking to Twitter the PMLN leader wrote, “My profound condolences & sympathies are with the bereaved families.”

    Criticising the government for its negligence and not ensuring the safety of the people, Shehbaz tweeted, “Where do you pin the responsibility of these deaths? Where was the government all the while? What arrangements did it make to deal with such an influx? Incompetence is fast turning into criminality.”

    “Prior arrangements & round the clock supervision were the normal SOPs in the past,” said Shehbaz.

    PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz paying her respects to the ones who have lost their lives said, “The tragic death of entire families in Murree, helpless in the snow, has shaken my heart.”

    “There is no point in cursing the government because this dead conscience government has died long ago,” further wrote Maryam.

    Reminding the government of its negligence, Maryam said, “The job of governments is not only to count tourists but also to make advance arrangements and security measures for them.”

    “These deaths are not due to snowfall, but due to government negligence,” tweeted Maryam.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman tweeted, “Heartbreaking, Govts surely need to be more vigilant about the flood of tourists on the Galiat routes in extreme weather.

    “Instead of seeking more tourists, Govt should have given a warning for jammed roads. This is the norm in perilous weather in all such destinations,” said Sherry.

    Meanwhile, the federal government has deployed the Pakistan Army and other civil-armed forces for rescue operations after 16-19 tourists died in their vehicles in Murree due to heavy snowfall in the hill station.

  • At least 18 tourists die in Murree snowfall as situation worsens

    At least 18 tourists die in Murree snowfall as situation worsens

     Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed said that at least 1,000 cars are still stuck in Murree and “around 16 to19 deaths have occurred in cars,” he said.

    Thousands of tourists are trapped on the roads in the area since last night. At least 16 to 19 people died of the extreme cold, while in their cars, during the snowstorm. The victims were stuck in their vehicles due to heavy snowfall at the tourist spot.

    Administration of Rawalpindi and Islamabad closed the roads going to Murree due to large number of vehicles entering the hill station.

    Thousands of tourists entered the hill station on Friday to witness the snowfall causing heavy traffic jams on the Murree-Islamabad Motorway. The authorities decided to close all kind of traffic going towards the hill station to avoid a further brutal traffic jam.

    “We request all motorists and tourists to cooperate with the authorities,” the NHMP wrote on its official Twitter account. 

    Furthermore, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed has said that all the routes from Islamabad to Murree have been closed. The decision was taken keeping in view the rush of tourists and traffic jams in Murree. Sheikh Rasheed has also requested citizens to postpone their plans to visit the hill station.

    Journalist Benazir Shah tweeted that SHO Murree told her that people did not die due to the extreme cold but because they left their car heaters on and the fumes caused their death. She also mentioned that the SHO told her that Muree had a 4000-5000 car parking capacity and the area has seen a record snowfall in the area.

    TRIGGER WARNING: The following video has graphic, distressing content of cars in which passengers have died due to the extreme cold. The Current has blurred the video.

    Meanwhile, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Taimoor Khan also left for Murree to monitor the traffic situation in the area.

    Rawalpindi Police also issued a travel route for all the tourists visiting Murree.

     Islamabad and Murree administrations are working to facilitate tourists round the clock.

  • Common man travelling to Murree shows they’re getting rich, says Fawad Chaudhry

    Common man travelling to Murree shows they’re getting rich, says Fawad Chaudhry

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has said that a rise in tourism indicates prosperity as it shows the income of the common man has increased.

    Taking to Twitter, the minister said that more than 100,000 tourist vehicles have entered Murree this year, due to which fares of hotels and guest houses have soared.

    “These statistics show that an increase in tourism in the country indicates prosperity as well as an increase in the income of the common man,” he said.

    Fawad added that in the current year, 100 big companies in the country have earned a profit of Rs929 billion, while all major media outlets have earned 33 per cent to 40 per cent in profits.

    Recently, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asked his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokespersons to inform the masses that there is no inflation in the country, as he expressed satisfaction over the economic team’s performance.

    Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin had also assured that inflation has come down in December as compared to November and next month inflation will come down further as global commodity prices are declining.

  • Punjab House in Murree handed over to HEC

    The Punjab House in Murree has been handed over to the Higher Education Department (HEC) for the establishment of Kohsar University, as per a notification issued by Punjab Board of Revenue. The secretary of the Colonies Department has forwarded the notification to the Deputy Development Commissioner of Rawalpindi.

    As per details, the Punjab House in Murree is a mansion built over 96 kanal. It comes under the provincial government and is used for different purposes.

    Read more – Inside pictures of Murree’s Government House Murree are royal

    PTI MNA Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, in a statement, said that along with theory, students will also be given practical education in tourism at the university.

    He further added that in one block of the Punjab House, classrooms will be built and to generate extra income other blocks will be made available to tourists under the supervision of the university. The plan is likely to materialize within the next three years.

    The decision to establish Koshar University in Punjab House was taken two years ago and is in the accordance with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to use government buildings for the interest of the general public.

    Earlier in 2018 and 2019 Punjab’s and Murree’s Governor’s House opened its doors for public respectively. In November 2020, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar inaugurated the Governor House Café that is set up in a double-decker bus inside the Governor House in Lahore for the general public.

  • Inside pictures of Murree’s Government House Murree are royal

    Inside pictures of Murree’s Government House Murree are royal

    The doors of the luxurious, state-of-the-art Governor House in Murree have been opened for the general public. However, the rent for staying there has not yet been revealed.

    Chief Minister Usman Buzdar made the announcement of this decision on his social media and shared some inside pictures of the house. And boy, oh boy, how magnificent and royal are the rooms.

    CM Buzdar said that this was done as part of the government’s austerity drive which aims to eliminate Pakistan’s VIP culture. PTI government has been making efforts to promote tourism in the country and until now 177 rest houses have been opened for public by the Punjab government.

    Buzdar said: “It is an honour to stay in such a magnificent building and the government does not want to limit this honour to its dignitaries only”.

    Look at the bedrooms. Woah!

    According to the Chief Spokesperson of CM Punjab Shahbaz Gill, the previous government had renovated and refurbished the government house for more than 60 crores rupees.

    A report published by The Express Tribune on October 17, 2016 claimed that the Punjab government spent Rs400-million on the renovation of the Murree Government House for the 19th Saarc summit. However, the conference never took place due to diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan.

    As part of renovations, the entire exterior, as well as the interior décor of the historic building of early post-modern architecture with a mix of Edwardian character, was redone. The government had also procured a new, high-definition CCTV system, over a dozen 40- and 60-inch smart LED televisions; high-speed optical fibre network, IP phones, a satellite phone, fire extinguishers and smoke detectors along with modern language and interpretation systems.

    As per details, you can book the Government House Murree by sending an email at govthousereservation@cmpunjab.gov.pk. The house is at least a 100 years old and has hosted several dignitaries including the Queen of England and the United States president.