The Peshawar High Court was informed that the provincial inspection team, which conducted an inquiry into the incident in which 17 people drowned in a flash flood in Swat on June 27, took action against individuals who were not directly related to the tragedy.
The inspection team recommended action against the local Tehsil Municipal Officer (TMO) and others, although the concerned TMO was neither posted in the area at the time nor responsible for the incident, and had not issued any No Objection Certificate (NOC).
According to the Special Secretary Home, further investigations are required to determine responsibility for the incident. He stated that inquiries into the roles of the Communication and Works (C&W) Department and the Irrigation Department were also necessary. Following consultation with the Chief Secretary, the court directed that further investigations be conducted.
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During the hearing, Chief Justice Syed Muhammad Attique Shah remarked that it was a very serious and tragic incident, where people were drowning before the eyes of their families. He said that such incidents could happen to anyone and stressed the need for identifying those who were negligent. He directed that an application be submitted to the Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for further investigations so that responsibility could be fixed.
The hearing was conducted by a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court Justice S.M. Attique Shah and Justice Ejaz Khan on a petition filed against the drowning of 17 tourists in a flash flood in the Swat River and the failure to rescue them promptly.
During the proceedings, Special Secretary Local Government (SSLG) Arshad Ali, Deputy Attorney General Goharur Rehman Khattak, Assistant Advocate General Riaz Khan Paindakhel, Babar Khan Yousafzai, judicial assistant Sikandar Rasheed, and lawyers representing the petitioners were present in court.
The SSLG informed the court that the provincial inspection team’s inquiry into the Swat tragedy had been completed, saying the team recommended action against the local TMO and others. However, subsequent investigations revealed that the concerned TMO was not responsible. He clarified that the TMO neither issued any NOC nor was posted in the relevant area at the time, and that further investigations were required to determine responsibility, particularly involving the C&W and Irrigation departments.
He added that the land on which the hotels were constructed belonged to the Irrigation Department, while the road fell under the responsibility of the C&W Department, making it necessary to investigate both departments and noted the inspection team had only recommended an inquiry against a single TMO.
In response, Chief Justice S.M. Attique Shah directed the officials to consult the Chief Secretary and include all relevant departments in the investigation. He reiterated that it was a very tragic and heartbreaking incident, with people drowning before the eyes of their families, and stressed that such tragedies could happen to anyone. He instructed the authorities to submit a request to the Chief Secretary for further investigations and to inform the court in writing.
The court adjourned the hearing and sought reports from the relevant parties.
Swat flood investigation
Following the tragedy, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government formed a committee to identify those responsible for negligence. The inquiry revealed that the Swat tragedy occurred due to negligence by multiple departments.
The report stated that tourists were neither rescued in time nor were any effective measures taken to save them. The initial inquiry report raised serious questions over the absence of tourism police on the day of the incident and questioned the role of the tourism police in tourist areas.
According to the report, 106 FIRs were registered for violations of Section 144, of which 14 were registered by the police and the remaining by assistant commissioners. The inquiry report stated that the police failed to present any evidence regarding the issuance of safety guidelines to hotels.
The report recommended that an inquiry be conducted into the negligence of the Swat police and the failure to fully enforce Section 144, with action against responsible officers within 60 days. It further recommended that legal and regulatory loopholes be addressed within 30 days, a new regulatory framework for buildings along riverbanks and safety measures be enforced within 30 days, and strict implementation of all existing laws be ensured.
