Fighting the fire
As media glare moves on, one can be sure that the families of victims of the Regent Plaza Fire will never get justice
The writer is the former editor of The Express Tribune. He tweets as @tribunian
News is such a fickle business. One day we are told that one of the city’s major hotels caught fire and eleven people died in the blaze. The city’s main road – Sharae Faisal, had to be closed down owing to the intensity of the fire. Our TV vans reach the site and report live. Some enterprising reporters use their cell phones to gain footage from within the hotel. We expect action. Nothing happens.
Two days later, the tragic PIA air crash near Havelian forces the media to move onto another story. People have already forgotten the Regent Plaza blaze. While we are told that an FIR has been lodged against the management of the hotel, details are scant. And that is the end of the coverage we have accorded to this tragic affair. So much for a free media. A media that is free but cannot follow up on stories.
The Regent Plaza fire follows a similar pattern to other such cases. We are now in the cover-up stage. A small hidden story on Saturday tells us that two owners and three employees of the Regent Plaza Hotel were granted protective bail for four days by the Sindh High Court.
A two-judge bench headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan granted bail to hotel chief executive officer Muzaffar Baweja, managing director Zubair Baweja, chief security officer retired Major Saad, chief engineer Arshad Mughal and supervising engineer Saleem Pervez against a sum of Rs200,000 for each.
As the media glare moves on, one can be sure that the families of victims of the Regent Plaza Fire will never get justice. Apart from the 11 dead, more than 50 people suffered injuries in the early morning blaze. But no one is listening.
Most of those who died in the blaze were killed from suffocation and not the fire itself. Owing to the absence of any fire exit or fire fighting equipment, the residents died from criminal negligence on the part of the hotel management and the city government. These lives could have been saved.
And yet we cannot charge or punish the owners of this hotel. Or question the role of the government. City mayor Waseem Akhtar blames the Baweja brothers for the deaths. But was the city government sleeping? Whose responsibility is it to ensure that hotels and public places have adequate arrangements for safety, including adequate fire fighting equipment and facilities?
While the government is quick to collect taxes from the hotel industry, one can only wonder where they are when it comes to regulation and compliance. How many people have been sacked or suspended by the city government? None.
Fire continues to be a challenge for Pakistan, more so because in most instances those who are negligent are let off the hook after paying heavy bribes. Who can forget one of the worst industrial disasters in the world that took place in Karachi when at least 289 people died at a garment factory.
Hundreds were trapped inside - the building had metal grilles on the windows and no fire exits. Many workers jumped from the upper floors. It was a big story that was covered extensively by the media. And yet the families of the victims wait for justice four years on.
Our government didn’t go after the owners of the factory. They are sitting smug, continuing their activities. Instead, our brilliant law enforcement agencies are now making the case into a case against the MQM and have even sent teams to Bangkok to arrest the person who allegedly started the fire. Why make a clear case of criminal negligence into one to settle political scores?
It’s not just Karachi that is to blame. Look at the numerous fires that have taken place in Lahore. In most instances, no one has been arrested. That is because the business community, which is by and large the biggest offender, manages to put pressure on the government to close the case.
Then there is the role of the media. Why cant we have follow-up stories on these scandals. The media is supposed to be the voice of the voiceless. Instead we see it moving from one story to another without proper investigation or perspective. Shame on our government. Questions on the media.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2016.
Two days later, the tragic PIA air crash near Havelian forces the media to move onto another story. People have already forgotten the Regent Plaza blaze. While we are told that an FIR has been lodged against the management of the hotel, details are scant. And that is the end of the coverage we have accorded to this tragic affair. So much for a free media. A media that is free but cannot follow up on stories.
The Regent Plaza fire follows a similar pattern to other such cases. We are now in the cover-up stage. A small hidden story on Saturday tells us that two owners and three employees of the Regent Plaza Hotel were granted protective bail for four days by the Sindh High Court.
A two-judge bench headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan granted bail to hotel chief executive officer Muzaffar Baweja, managing director Zubair Baweja, chief security officer retired Major Saad, chief engineer Arshad Mughal and supervising engineer Saleem Pervez against a sum of Rs200,000 for each.
As the media glare moves on, one can be sure that the families of victims of the Regent Plaza Fire will never get justice. Apart from the 11 dead, more than 50 people suffered injuries in the early morning blaze. But no one is listening.
Most of those who died in the blaze were killed from suffocation and not the fire itself. Owing to the absence of any fire exit or fire fighting equipment, the residents died from criminal negligence on the part of the hotel management and the city government. These lives could have been saved.
And yet we cannot charge or punish the owners of this hotel. Or question the role of the government. City mayor Waseem Akhtar blames the Baweja brothers for the deaths. But was the city government sleeping? Whose responsibility is it to ensure that hotels and public places have adequate arrangements for safety, including adequate fire fighting equipment and facilities?
While the government is quick to collect taxes from the hotel industry, one can only wonder where they are when it comes to regulation and compliance. How many people have been sacked or suspended by the city government? None.
Fire continues to be a challenge for Pakistan, more so because in most instances those who are negligent are let off the hook after paying heavy bribes. Who can forget one of the worst industrial disasters in the world that took place in Karachi when at least 289 people died at a garment factory.
Hundreds were trapped inside - the building had metal grilles on the windows and no fire exits. Many workers jumped from the upper floors. It was a big story that was covered extensively by the media. And yet the families of the victims wait for justice four years on.
Our government didn’t go after the owners of the factory. They are sitting smug, continuing their activities. Instead, our brilliant law enforcement agencies are now making the case into a case against the MQM and have even sent teams to Bangkok to arrest the person who allegedly started the fire. Why make a clear case of criminal negligence into one to settle political scores?
It’s not just Karachi that is to blame. Look at the numerous fires that have taken place in Lahore. In most instances, no one has been arrested. That is because the business community, which is by and large the biggest offender, manages to put pressure on the government to close the case.
Then there is the role of the media. Why cant we have follow-up stories on these scandals. The media is supposed to be the voice of the voiceless. Instead we see it moving from one story to another without proper investigation or perspective. Shame on our government. Questions on the media.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2016.