ISLAMABAD – Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar strongly criticized the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government over delays in the Swat River rescue operation, blaming Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) 12-year governance for the tragedy.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Tarar said the heartbreaking incident in Swat had left the entire nation in grief, with the Prime Minister also expressing sorrow. He said the real failure wasn’t nature—it was the collapsed system under PTI’s long rule.
He noted that suspending the deputy commissioner was not enough. “The Chief Minister should be held responsible instead of shamelessly saying that providing tents is not his job,” Tarar stated firmly.
The minister questioned Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s leadership, saying he was effectively running the province from Adiala Jail. “Is this what the public voted for—to have a CM working remotely from prison?” he asked, adding that public service was replaced with blind loyalty to the PTI founder.
Tarar also criticized the rescue efforts, pointing out that despite modern technology, people stranded just meters from land were not saved in time. “They tied ropes and built makeshift rafts after hours had passed. Only one attempt was made to save those people,” he said.
He further slammed the use of the government helicopter by PTI’s founder and CM, questioning why it wasn’t deployed for rescue. “Women and children screamed for help while leaders sat in comfort,” he added. “The Swat River didn’t claim just lives—it exposed the death of PTI’s failed rescue system.”
Tarar concluded by saying that instead of glorifying confrontations with law enforcement, PTI should have built effective systems. “Real success would have been saving lives—not sacrificing them to inefficiency and negligence,” he said.