Lack of resources ‘real cause’ of Hazara Express tragedy: Saad Rafique

Railways and Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Monday that lack of resources was the “real cause” of the Hazara Express tragedy, which killed more than 30 people.

In a press conference, he said that an investigation was under way and those responsible would be punished.

However, he added that “the real issue … is that we do not have resources. We are unable to maintain things.”

More than 1,000 passengers were aboard the Hazara Express when it came off the tracks near Nawabshah on Sunday.

Following the incident, Rafique said that an act of sabotage could be among the reasons for the derailment of multiple Hazara Express coaches.

“There could be two possible reasons for the accident. Either it is a mechanical fault in the line or a fault was developed. It could be an act of sabotage or mechanical fault,” he told reporters at a press conference in Lahore.

He said the federal government railways inspector would decide how the accident occurred.

Hazara Express: investigators scour wreckage after deadly train crash in Pakistan

Sunday’s crash is the latest to hit the network in recent years.

Two trains collided near Daharki in Sindh in June 2021, killing at least 65 people and injuring about 150 others.

In that incident, an express derailed onto the opposite track, and a second passenger train ploughed into the wreckage a minute later.

At least 75 passengers were burnt to death in a fire aboard the Tezgam express train in October 2019, while a two-train collision at Ghotki killed more than 100 people in 2005.