Hattar blast probe report still not made public

Delay in releasing findings raises concerns as victims await accountability

HARIPUR:

The fact-finding report on the Hattar tragedy has not been made public, though it has been forwarded to the Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Sources said the Hazara commissioner has sent the report to the chief secretary and secretary industries for further examination with the help of a technical team to determine the actual causes and those responsible.

When contacted, PTI leader Yusuf Ayub Khan said that the affected families must receive full support until justice is delivered. Meanwhile, PML-N MNA Babar Nawaz Khan stated that whoever is found responsible in the inquiry should face legal action.

Yusuf Ayub Khan said the provincial cabinet has approved financial assistance of Rs30 million for the victims - Rs2.5 million for each deceased and Rs1 million for each injured - to be disbursed within 10 days.

He added that, on the special interest of the chief minister, a Rs10 billion transport project from Hattar Industrial Estate to Mansehra will soon be launched, including Rs6 billion for electric buses and Rs4 billion for terminal infrastructure.

It is pertinent to note that the explosion at Hattar Industrial Estate, reportedly involving a Sui gas main transmission line, has been widely discussed. Some accounts suggest possible involvement of acidic discharge from nearby factories or gas leakage, as also indicated by affected families who claim their complaints to authorities went unheard.

PTI parliamentary leader MPA Akbar Ayub Khan raised the issue on the assembly floor, calling for identification of causes and accountability to ensure justice for grieving families and prevent such incidents in future.

Yusuf Ayub Khan said the commissioner had sought the report within 24 hours under the supervision of the Haripur deputy commissioner, but even after 16 days, it has not been made public, raising serious concerns among residents and various segments of society.

He termed the incident a major tragedy in which eight people from a single family lost their lives and 10 others were injured. He said the party stands with the victims and will ensure their voice reaches the chief secretary.

He warned that if justice is delayed, protest remains a constitutional right, and a strategy will be devised in consultation with the affected families. Residents and civil society groups have questioned the delay in identifying the cause of the explosion, asking why responsibility has not yet been fixed even after more than two weeks.