The Capital Development Authority sealed Centaurus Mall in an overnight raid claiming safety measures, two months after a huge fire broke out at a shopping mall located in the center of the federal capital, Islamabad.
Earlier a heated debate came between Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Sardar Tanveer Ilyas and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his visit to Mangla. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif didn’t allow the AJK PM to speak during his speech.
According to reports a team of CDA officials and local police raided the Centaurus Mall and expelled the administrative staff as well as guards, after which the building was sealed. The CDA said the mall has been sealed over ‘illegal use’.
Also Read : AJK Prime Minister blamed Federal Govt for the Fire in Islamabad Shopping Mall
Reports in local media said the building control department of the municipal authority conducted an overnight raid and sealed the mall. Officials maintained that safety measures against fire eruption were not taken despite multiple notices.
CDA officials claimed to issue several notices to the management of the iconic mall to ensure safety measures after the October inferno but mall authorities paid no heed. Officials also highlighted that no repair work was done to damages caused by the huge fire to the multiple tower mall.
Earlier in October, the mall caught fire for unknown reasons but a spokesperson for the AJK PM blamed the federal government for the fire in Centaurus Shopping Mall, which is owned by AJK PM Sardar Tanveer Ilyas.
Talking to journalists, AJK PM’s spokesperson, Raja Usman, claimed that the fire in Centaurus Mall was set deliberately as the federal government was doing political victimization in light of the political situation.
He claimed that the federal government wants to make it a bigger incident than the Model Town fire, accusing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah of involvement in Islamabad’s shopping mall fire.