Conflicting statements and unnecessary panic
The blast that killed 10 and defaced one of Lahore’s most frequented and busy upscale market’s yesterday had all the elements of a terrorist attack that the city’s residents have unfortunately become all too familiar with. Text messages about a generator exploding late morning quickly escalated into an all-out security situation and as soon as images started coming in it was clear that Lahore had been attacked yet again.
This particular incident however became the source of confusion amid conflicting theories surfacing owing to the Punjab Government’s complete lack of coordination and communication amongst its various security and administrative departments. First responders, ‘on the face of it’, claimed that it was a remote controlled improvised explosive device (IED), simultaneously the Law Minister for Punjab Rana Sanaullah appeared on several private TV channels to claim that it ‘could be an accident caused by chemicals present in the building that was being renovated’.
Anxious parents soon received calls to pick their children from school – a common occurrence when an attack takes place. This too was made unnecessarily horrific by the media that ran unsubstantiated reports that a second blast had taken place in Gulberg area of the city. No such incident had taken place but an entire emergency security/medical contingent was deployed to the area after the reports.
Based on forensics the initial reports suggest that the blast was the result of a gas leak emanating from cylinders present on the site rather than a planted bomb. If that is the case then the responsible people need to be made an example of. Nonetheless the buck stops with the Punjab government to ensure the safety of all citizens everywhere, be it terrorism or unfortunate accidents.
Designated Government spokesperson(s) should address the media after such incidents with statements/updates that are supported by evidence and are consistent with what all other departments are saying. PEMRA has already issued notices to the channels responsible for running the fake Gulberg blast news but media houses should themselves consider the sensitivity of a situation before running unverified frivolous content.
