‘Outcome of negligence and carelessness’: Karachi police register FIR of Gul Plaza inferno

Police on Saturday registered a first information report (FIR) over the devastating Gul Plaza inferno, citing the incident as an “outcome of negligence and carelessness”.

The deadly inferno, which erupted on the night of January 17 at the mall and took nearly two days to be fully extinguished, has left the ground-plus-three-storey building in ruins, with some sections collapsed. It has so far claimed 71 lives.

South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza confirmed that the FIR had been registered on behalf of the state, through a police official, under relevant laws.

According to the FIR, Nabi Bux Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Nawaz Ali Zardari said the police received information about the fire in the plaza at around 10:30pm on January 17.

The FIR added that the fire was “rapidly spreading and engulfed the entire plaza” while firefighters and other rescue personnel were engaged in efforts to extinguish the blaze.

It further stated that the fire erupted in shop number 193, a flower and gift shop, located on the ground floor, and quickly spread in the shopping plaza.

“Rescue work is ongoing and there are apprehensions of more deaths,” said the FIR.

The police also blamed the lack of firefighting equipment and “no reasonable arrangements” in the case of an emergency for the tragedy.

The report added that there were “no emergency exits” and that electricity had been switched off, complicating the evacuation of those inside the shopping plaza.

“Due to these reasons, precious human lives were lost and substantive financial losses also occurred.”

The FIR has been registered under Sections 322 (murder without intention), 337-H(i) (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent act), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc), and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs50) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Police have not nominated anyone in the case; therefore, the FIR has been registered against unknown persons.

Need to learn lessons: Khaqan Abbasi

Separately, Awaam Pakistan Convenor Shahid Khaqan Abbasi paid a visit to Gul Plaza, where he stressed the need to “learn lessons” from the incident and take corrective measures.

“This has been a complete failure […] There are thousands of such buildings in Karachi. What will the government do about those?” he said while speaking to the media.

The ex-premier remarked that possibly replacing a “few officials” after an investigation was “no compensation” for the loss of lives and property caused by the fire.

During the media talk, a citizen decried that the relatives of the deceased who had come for shopping were “not getting any information” or propoer responses.

“We had given our DNA report from the first day [of the incident], but we have got nothing so far.”

Responding to him and another query, Abbasi said, “Whenever such incidents take place, the government institutions come and analyse how many people have been martyred and how their relatives can be helped.

“[…] It takes some time but it appears that such a procedure has not been employed […] how they can be consoled, helped in the identification.”

Addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club later, the Awaam Pakistan chief stressed that it was the responsibility of the government to “at least listen” to the affected people.

CM Murad announces major relief, accountability measures

On Friday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah briefed the provincial assembly on the incident, with Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab in attendance.

Recalling that Rs10 million had been announced for the family of each deceased individual, CM Murad said the required funds have been released and handed over to the Karachi commissioner for distribution.

About the committee formed to estimate the losses faced by the businesses at Gul Plaza, he said the Sindh Assembly would compensate the affected people.

The Sindh CM announced Rs500,000 in “immediate” financial assistance for the 1,102 shops approved by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) at Gul Plaza, and if any others had any proper documentation.

“This is for their sustenance so that they can stand back on their feet, as the rest of the programme can take two to three months,” he noted.

The chief minister further revealed that after some ministers’ efforts, 500 shops were made available in one building and 350 in another, whose owners have said they will not take any rent for one year.

“My effort is to make arrangements for them (shop occupants/renters) to get makeshift shops for two years,” Murad said.

He went on to announce that the Sindh government, through the Sindh Enterprise Development Fund, would arrange the “security/collateral” for the affected people and pay the interest if someone wanted Rs10m in loans.

The Sindh CM said Gul Plaza would likely be demolished and then rebuilt, with each shop getting the same area size it previously had. He added that the Sindh government would aim to reconstruct them within two years.

The chief minister also stated that an audit will be conducted and non-compliant buildings would be given a “brief period” to comply, failing which they would be sealed.

He further said that he has directed the provincial law minister to draft legislation for making insurance mandatory.