LAHORE/KARACHI: The GM Railways, Javed Anwar on Wednesday confessed that anyone can dispatch any sort of goods via Pakistan Railways, irrespective of the fact that how dangerous the consignment could be, ARY News reported.
Addressing a press conference shortly after a sting operation by
ARY News program
Sar-e-Aam team, the GM Railways admitted before the newsmen that there is no arrangement of effective checking of goods, which are sent to different cities via railways cargo service.
He confessed that anyone could send anything to a specified location irrespective of the fact how dangerous the consignment could be.
Anwar told the journalists that the railways employees found guilty of transfer of arms and explosive material are all suspended. He also told that a case has been registered against the media team for
smuggling illegal goods to Lahore by means of railways.
The GM Railways added that the railways officials were told about the consignment that these were some domestic goods.
Meanwhile, the IG Railways Police has also admitted that it is impossible to check all the goods being transferred from one place to another via railways.
Earlier, ARY News program, Sar-e-Aam team had exposed offensive negligence by railways employees as it dispatched some weapons and explosives to Lahore via railways, which were successfully delivered.
Upon the delivery of these goods, Sar-e-Aam team informed railways authorities of this serious negligence by the employees, yet the authorities registered a case against the media team itself which carried out the sting operation to open the eyes of some higher-ups of the
Pakistan Railways.
The case was registered over the smuggling of arms and illegal items.
Meanwhile, journalist fraternity and numerous political figures have strongly condemned unjust behavior of the Pakistan Railways authorities with Sar-e-Aam team and castigated them for registering a case against the media men, instead of recognizing their efforts to expose the criminal negligence of the officials and employees.
Sar-e-Aam team faces lawsuit for exposing arms smuggling via railways | ARY NEWS
LAHORE: The ARY team, in fulfilling its social responsibility of bringing truth to light, exposed the Pakistan Railways, headed by Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique, for its involvement in intra-city transportation of illegal weapons.
The team of whistle blowing program,
Sar-e-Aam hosted by Iqrar-ul-Hasan caught the railway officials red-handed in taking bribes to trade illegal weapons to other cities via train.
Railways officials were found receiving bribes to transport from Karachi to Lahore.
As these reports sent shockwaves among the high-ups, minister Saad Rafique threatened the ARY News team of case registration if the report was aired.
Instead of catching the culprits, the Railways police collared the Sar-e-Aam team and a case was registered against Sar-e-Aam team in Lahore.
Anchor Iqrarul Hasan said opium, charas, arms and munitions were found from bogies of the train during a sting operation conducted by ARY News team.
PTI leader Imran Ismail has demanded that railways minister Khwaja Saad Rafique should immediately resign in the wake of such shameful incident.
Sar-e-Aam exposes railways involvement in illegal weapons trade | ARY NEWS