The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister’s Special Assistant said on Monday that the inferno at the popular Islamabad shopping mall owned by AJK Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas is a case of “political victimisation.”
On Sunday, a fire started on the third floor of the Centaurus Mall in Islamabad. Since then, the fire has quickly spread to the other floors of the building, including the residential flats on the upper half.
Initial reports state that there have been no casualties while the fire brigade hastened to the scene to put out the fire.
The fire is rapidly spreading from the third to the first floor of the building as well as the higher floors of the building, where there are residential units, but a delay in the arrival of rescue services has increased the intensity of the fire.
According to sources, the fire started at the Monal Downtown restaurant, and it has since spread to the entire food court.
In reference to the conflict between the federal government and PTI, which is in power in the region, the AJK PM’s adviser said, “It is feared that [federal government] is doing political victimisation in light of the political situation.”
He accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah of being involved in the mall fire and asserted that the federal government “wants to make it a bigger incident than Model Town fire.”
Ali Shan, the food minister for AJK, issued a warning that a sit-in would be organised if the mall was not reopened.
The minister stated that they had come to show support for the AJK premier and that they do not intend to politicise the situation.
