Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Saturday that the district administration was caught unprepared with the rush of people in Murree, ordering an inquiry and putting in place strong regulations to ensure the prevention of such tragedies.

His tweet came after at least 21 people, including children, died in Murree, freezing in cars stranded in snow after tourists flocked to the hill station. While authorities attempted a rescue operation, cars remained stranded for hours as heavy snowfall made any evacuation efforts difficult.

"Unprecedented snowfall and rush of people proceeding without checking weather conditions caught district admin unprepared," the premier said in a Twitter post on Saturday.

"Have ordered inquiry and putting in place strong regulation to ensure prevention of such tragedies," he added.

Death toll in calamity-hit Murree rises to 21

The Pakistan Meteorological Department had predicted heavy snowfall in Murree and Galiyat from January 6 to 9.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif questioned who was responsible for the deaths.

"Where do you pin the responsibility of these deaths? Where was the government all the while? What arrangements did it make to deal with such an influx? Incompetence is fast turning into criminality. Prior arrangements & round the clock supervision were the normal SOPs in the past," he tweeted.