A massive fire in Islamabad’s landmark Centaurus Mall has taken a political turn with the PTI “smelling conspiracy” behind the blaze and Islamabad authorities launching a probe into the safety measures that the building’s management was required to implement.

The authorities have also registered a case against four people for obstructing government officials from performing their duties.

The shopping mall and its residential towers have been sealed until a technical committee examines the building and determines whether the fire had caused any structural damage. This essentially means businesses at the mall cannot resume for an indefinite period.

Centaurus Mall is owned by PTI leader Tanvir Ilyas, who is currently the prime minister of the Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK). His spokespersons have warned that the party will stage a protest in Islamabad against the PMLN-led federal government.

Saftey measures

While Centaurus is known for the shopping center it houses, the project with its iconic three towers is a mixed-use building with a luxury hotel and a 23-flour residential tower.

The fire broke out Sunday afternoon on the mall’s 4th floor which houses a food court. It soon turned into a blaze with smoke plumes billowing from one of the three towers. The smoke was visible from several areas of Islamabad.

Several videos taken inside and outside the building showed flames leaping out of windows and toward the ground from the fourth floor as panicked shoppers tried to flee.

One video showed people climbing down escalators that had stopped. No emergency staircase was seen in any of the videos.

Steffen Kudella, who heads HSF Pakistan and lives in one of the residential apartments at Centaurus, reported that no fire alarm went off immediately and learned about the fire after leaving his house to get coffee. “ There was no fire alarm whatsoever. At around 4 pm, I left #Centaurus to get coffee and wondered outside why it smells burned. Then I heard about the fire,“ he wrote on Twitter.

In another tweet posted a few minutes later, Kudella said the fire alarms were now ringing.

He later moved to a friend’s home.

Other social media users also questioned the absence of safety measures at the building.

“Its ridiculous how the tallest building in Islamabad has no fire safety measures in place. Not even sprinklers are installed. How did this even get approved,” said Munim Matin Afridi.

Some people, however, commended the professionalism of the mall’s security personnel who did not run away and helped people exit the building.

Political wrangling

The fire departments from Islamabad and Rawalpindi and the firefighters from the Pakistan Navy brought the fire under control within two and a half hours. No loss of life or injury was reported.

Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz said that the mall and its residential towers had been sealed until a technical team submitted a report on the structural capability of the three towers.

“As a precaution, the Centaurus Mall and its allied residential towers are being sealed till the Technical team reports on the structural capability of the towers after this fire. The shopping mall also is completely cardon off and secured to avoid any theft etc,” he tweeted.

A seven members committee is conducting the probe and has been asked to submit its report in three-days.

The Centaurus Mall management, meanwhile, blamed the authorities for what they claimed was a delayed response to the fire.

AJK Finance Minister Abdul Majid Khan and Centaurus Mall general manager held a joint press conference Sunday night and claimed that the project was being targeted in a political vendetta because it was owned by AJK Prime Minister Ilyas.

Khan said that there would be a protest if the local authorities did not allow the reopening of the mall.

PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur said he smelled a conspiracy behind that fire.

On the other hand, Margalla Police Station has registered a case against a named and three unnamed accused. The FIR, registered on the complaint of an assistant sub-inspector says that a man wearing a black shirt and identifying himself as Javed had tried to stop government officials from their work at the Centaurus Mall.

It said the man posed himself as a policeman and carried a shotgun while his three accomplices fled the scene.