By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: The Sindh provincial government on Wednesday established a single-member judicial commission to investigate the devastating fire at Gul Plaza shopping center that killed at least 73 people and destroyed more than 1,100 shops, amid growing questions about regulatory failures and emergency response delays.
The move came hours after Sindh High Court Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput nominated Justice Agha Faisal to lead the probe, following a formal request from the government. The fire, which erupted on Jan. 23 and took nearly two days to fully extinguish, has spotlighted longstanding concerns over building safety and firefighting capabilities in Pakistan’s largest city.
In a letter sent earlier in the day to the secretary of the Sindh Home Department, the high court registrar confirmed the chief justice’s decision to appoint Justice Faisal under Section 3 of the Sindh Tribunals of Inquiry Ordinance, 1969. The nomination responded directly to the government’s Jan. 30 request, which included proposed terms of reference for the inquiry.
The Sindh Home Department followed up with an official notification appointing Justice Faisal as the commission’s sole member. It detailed a broad mandate for the judge, requiring him to scrutinise whether approvals and lease extensions for the building from the Sindh Building Control Authority, its predecessors, and the Karachi Municipal Corporation adhered to relevant laws, rules, and regulations.
Justice Faisal is also tasked with determining if the construction of Gul Plaza deviated from the approved building plan, potentially complicating evacuations during the blaze. The commission will evaluate the adequacy of fire detection, prevention, and firefighting systems in the structure, assessing whether the building’s management complied with applicable safety laws and regulations.
Additionally, the probe will examine if any fire safety audits were conducted by the management or government departments, and whether any resulting recommendations were carried out. Justice Faisal must identify the precise causes and circumstances of the fire, review the effectiveness and timeliness of rescue operations, and assign responsibility for any lapses before or after the incident. The notification specifies that the commission must submit its findings within eight weeks, with logistical support provided by the Karachi Commissioner’s office.
The government’s decision to pursue a judicial inquiry followed a review by a cabinet subcommittee of the Pakistan People’s Party-led administration, which examined a report from a two-member investigative team. That review highlighted the need for an independent examination of regulatory oversights tied to the disaster. The push for the commission also came after major opposition parties, unanimously dismissed the government’s initial findings. In its preliminary investigation, the government had already taken action against several officials, suspending the chief engineer (bulk) and the hydrants incharge of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation; the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s municipal commissioner, Afzal Zaidi, and its senior director of municipal services; and the director of Civil Defence along with its additional controller for the South district. Some of these officials face further departmental proceedings.
The Gul Plaza fire, one of the deadliest in Karachi’s recent history, has renewed scrutiny of urban development practices in a city where rapid growth often outpaces enforcement of safety standards. The shopping center, a bustling hub in the city’s Saddar area, housed clothing stores, electronics shops, and other businesses that drew crowds daily. teams worked through thick smoke and collapsing structures to pull survivors from the wreckage, but the death toll climbed steadily as bodies were recovered over the following days. Families of the victims have demanded justice, pointing to apparent violations in building codes that may have turned a containable fire into a catastrophe.
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