By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Authorities arrested eight officials from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and the owner of a residential building on Thursday, nearly a week after the structure collapsed in Karachi’s Lyari district, killing 27 people.
The arrests follow the filing of a police report that accuses the officials and the owner of negligence and failure to perform their duties, charges that point to a preventable tragedy in one of Pakistan’s most densely populated cities.
The five-storey building on Fida Husain Shaikha Road in Lea Market crumbled on the morning of Friday, July 4, trapping residents under rubble. Rescue operations stretched over days, concluding on Sunday, July 6.
The SBCA had long deemed the building uninhabitable due to its deteriorating condition, issuing repeated notices since 2023 for residents to vacate. Yet the structure, home to 20 apartments, remained occupied until its fatal collapse.
South Deputy Inspector General of Police Syed Asad Raza confirmed the arrests, detailing the legal action that prompted them. “Nine officials and the present owner of the building were nominated in the FIR registered on a complaint of an official of the local government department,” Raza said. “However, eight directors and deputy directors were arrested, but one official was not arrested as he was sick.”
Raza added that the building’s owner was also taken into custody. The First Information Report (FIR), filed Wednesday at the Baghdadi Police Station, was lodged by Hamadullah, a section officer with the Sindh Local Government and Housing Town Planning Department.
It charges the accused under several sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including negligence, failure to uphold public duty, and causing harm, offences that underscore the gravity of the alleged lapses.
Constructed in 1986 across 527.3 square yards, the building featured a ground floor and five upper levels, split into two portions. According to the FIR, both sections had fallen into disrepair over the years, rendering them unfit for habitation.
The complaint asserts that SBCA officials knew of the building’s condition but “completely failed” to act, displaying “negligence and carelessness.” It further alleges that the officials “deliberately” omitted the building’s dilapidated state from official records, allowing it to remain in use.
The FIR also points to the building’s owner and other unidentified owners, accusing them of renting apartments to tenants, including members of the Hindu community, despite knowing the structure was unsafe.
This decision, the complaint says, contributed directly to the loss of life on July 4, an incident it labels as the result of “criminal negligence.”
The provincial government has moved swiftly in response. On Monday, SBCA Director General Ishaque Khuhro was suspended, and Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon announced the formation of a fact-finding committee to investigate the collapse.
“The Sindh chief minister ordered the home minister to immediately register an FIR,” Memon said, signaling a push for accountability. The legal charges outlined in the FIR include Section 34 (common intention), Section 217 (public servant disobeying law to shield someone from punishment), Section 218 (public servant falsifying records), Section 288 (negligent conduct with respect to buildings), Section 322 (punishment for unintentional killing), Section 337-Ai (causing hurt), and Section 427 (mischief causing damage). Together, these provisions reflect a broad effort to hold those responsible to account.
The collapse has reignited concerns over building safety in Karachi, a sprawling metropolis where rapid growth often outpaces regulatory oversight. For many low-income residents, substandard housing remains the only affordable option, a reality laid bare by this disaster.
Local residents and activists are now pressing for stricter enforcement of building codes and regular inspections to avert future tragedies. The Sindh government has pledged a thorough investigation and punishment for the guilty, but for the families of the 27 victims, the focus remains on mourning a loss that many view as avoidable.
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