Lack of resources led to Hazara Express accident, says Railways minister

Addressing an event in Lahore on Monday, a day after the devastating Hazara Express accident, which claimed the lives of at least 35 people and left around 100 others injured, Minister for Railways and Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said that the reason behind the tragedy was lack of resources. "We are investigating the accident," he said, while specifying that the incumbent government's tenure will end in two days and then the caretaker government will take over. "We are investigating the matter and the responsible persons will be held to account but the actual responsibility lies in the lack of resources," he said. "We are not being able to maintain matters." Minister for Railways @KhSaad_Rafique addressing a ceremony in Lahore https://t.co/TDu8Gxey97 — Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) August 7, 2023 The minister informed that the caretaker government will sign an agreement with Beijing, China, based on decisions made recently and earlier in 2018, through which "Pakistanis will see the kind of railway that they usually travel abroad to see within six to seven years". Moving onto the Pakistan Internation Airlines (PIA), which he said he has been overseeing for the past 14 months, the minister said that it is in "pathetic" state despite efforts made by him and the state airline. It was once counted among the world's best airlines but due to politically motivated decisions made as opposed to merit based ones it is now in dire straits, said the minister. This will have to change, he said, referring to Air India and South Africa Airline. "We have laid the foundation but foreign direct investment will need to be brought in through the private sector so we can buy airplanes," he added. Read 35 perish, 100 injured as 10 bogies of Hazara Express derail He further said that the airports will also be outsourced beginning with the Islamabad Airport as it is the government's job to build airports not to maintain them. "We have natural resources, the world's top five mountainous peaks, a huge coastal line and hardworking. But what we lack is political stability and without it we cannot move forward," he said, earlier. However, he opined, the country will move towards political stability in a few years as everyone will be exhausted of fighting. "Most are worn out. Those still fighting will also tire out," he said, adding that the only solution is for the country's political elite and institutions to work together. He regretted that the country has failed to ensure justice in the country. "This country...will move forward with the help of the Almighty," he said, adding that the $3 billion International Monetary Fund tranche is not a point of pride but rather a response to a moment of need. "There should be a time that we don't have to spread our hands out in need and borrow money." "What I have seen in the railways and aviation department in the past 15 months cannot be stated," he said, adding that Pakistan has had to plead for money from smaller countries. How can the green passport hold value when other countries lend to us, he said. "Difficult times are followed by easier ones," he added. Hazara Express A tragic accident, also bearing some unexplained hallmarks of sabotage, struck the Hazara Express near the Sarhari railway station in the Sanghar district on Sunday, claiming at least 35 lives and injuring around 100 others, rescuers said. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and the local authorities told the media that 10 bogies of the Hazara Express derailed over Dadwah – a fresh water distributary – around 1.5 kilometres away from the station. There were 19 bogies in the train that had left Karachi with around 1,100 passengers on board. The accident occurred around quarter past one, near the rural town of Sarhari, located some 30 kilometres away from Nawabshah. The impact of accident was huge that even the railway tracks ripped off from the ground. Shah, who visited the scene, gave the death toll of 30 but the Edhi Foundation said they shifted 35 bodies to a hospital in Nawabshah. Rafique as well as the train’s driver expressed fears of sabotage, but the Nawabshah Division Commissioner Muhammad Abbas Baloch believed that the train met with an accident.