Shopping mall fire: Inquiry committee takes decisions after first meeting

ISLAMABAD: The inquiry committee constituted by the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Islamabad has held its first meeting to launch a thorough probe into the Centaurus shopping mall fire incident, ARY News reported on Monday.

The inquiry committee’s members also visited the shopping mall and included Centaurus Mall’s administration in the investigation. They inspected the fire protection system and the functionality of the alarms installed at the high-rise.

DC Islamabad Irfan Memon said that strict action will be taken in accordance with the law after the completion of the inquiry.

He said, “If a trader wants to take expensive items, then permission will be granted. However, the shopping mall will be closed until the issuance of the inquiry report. Precious lives are more important for us.”

Centaurus fire doused

Yesterday, firefighters doused a blaze that erupted in Islamabad’s famous shopping mall on Sunday evening in a two-hour firefighting operation.

The firefighting operation was jointly conducted by the fire brigade, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and Rescue 1122 personnel.

READ: FEDERAL GOVT ‘BLAMED’ FOR FIRE IN ISLAMABAD’S SHOPPING MALL

Residential apartments in the building were also evacuated as a result of the fire.

In a statement, Islamabad police said that people were rescued and safely evacuated from the backdoor of the mall — which was engulfed in smoke after the fire. No casualties were reported in the fire incident and the cause of the fire is yet to be identified.

Islamabad police said that the mall’s building would remain sealed until a probe into the matter has been carried out. Until then, entry into the building would remain prohibited to the public.

A case over the fire incident was registered at Margalla Police Station on behalf of SHO Mateen Chaudhry under Section 436. The FIR stated that the unidentified men set the shopping mall ablaze under unknown motives.

Federal government blamed for fire

The spokesperson for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister blamed the federal government for the fire in Islamabad’s shopping mall, which is owned by AJK PM Sardar Tanveer Ilyas.

Talking to journalists, AJK PM’s spokesperson, Raja Usman, claimed that the fire in Centaurus Mall was set deliberately as the federal government was doing political victimisation in light of the political situation.

He claimed that the federal government wants to make it a bigger incident than the Model Town fire, accusing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah of involvement in Islamabad’s shopping mall fire.

The spokesperson further said that the Islamabad administration was responsible for the inferno and the Inspector-General, Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner were directly involved in the incident.