Gul Plaza tragedy: Sindh CM accuses political opponents of pursuing ‘hidden agendas’

KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday told the Sindh Assembly that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has always stood with the public during tragedies, whether caused by fires, floods or heavy rains, and assured that all those responsible for the Gul Plaza tragedy would be brought to justice.

Delivering a detailed policy statement on the Gul Plaza incident, the Chief Minister announced that an FIR would be registered and a full inquiry conducted to identify negligence and lapses. He said all rescue and relief agencies would now be placed under a single command to ensure better coordination during emergencies. He added that criticism was welcome, but warned political opponents against pursuing “hidden agendas”, saying some elements could not tolerate Sindh’s progress.

Murad Ali Shah said the Gul Plaza tragedy had saddened the entire country, claiming the lives of many innocent people. “This is a tragedy for which words are not enough. There is an atmosphere of grief everywhere,” he said, adding that he wanted to inform the House about the causes of the incident and the government’s response.

READ MORE: Death toll in Gul Plaza fire hits 55: Karachi govt

Providing details of casualties, the chief minister said that initially 88 people were reported missing. One person was later found alive and five names were duplicated, bringing the number of confirmed missing persons to 82. So far, 61 bodies have been recovered. Of these, nine have been identified through DNA, while a total of 15 bodies have been identified so far. DNA sampling of 45 bodies has been completed and results for nine are still awaited. He said bodies would be handed over to families after proper identification. According to the latest figures, 15 people are still missing.

The Chief Minister said the fire broke out at 10:14 pm on the ground floor of Gul Plaza. The fire brigade received a call at 10:26 pm, while Rescue 1122 was informed at 10:36pm. He said a government representative, the deputy commissioner South reached the site 16 minutes after the fire started. He added that all shortcomings were being investigated and confirmed that a criminal case would be registered.

During the speech, Jamaat-e-Islami MPA Muhammad Farooq stood up from his seat and objected, alleging that the Chief Minister was making incorrect statements and that the deputy commissioner had not reached the site. He said he did not doubt anyone’s intentions but stressed that the tragedy should not be politicised.

Responding to the interruption, Murad Ali Shah said the first fire brigade vehicle reached the site at 10:27 pm and that complete records were available showing where vehicles were dispatched from.

The Chief Minister also gave a historical background of the building. He said the plot was leased for 99 years in 1984. An application for construction was submitted to the KBCA in 1979, while the sale deed was approved in 1983 and the building was completed in the 1980s. He said the lease was approved in 1991 by the mayor of the time. Originally, the building plan included a basement and two floors. In 1998, permission was sought for a third floor. In 2001, an ordinance allowed irregularities in buildings to be regularised, and in 2003 all irregularities of Gul Plaza were formally regularised.

Murad Ali Shah said all these actions took place before the 18th Constitutional Amendment and questioned how the tragedy could be blamed on the amendment. He termed it a crime to use such tragedies for political purposes and said people should not bring political agendas over dead bodies.

Referring to previous incidents, the Chief Minister said that during earlier major fire incidents, including the Timber Market and Cooperative Market fires, the Sindh government had provided assistance to affected people. He said that in the Gul Plaza case, compensation for the victims’ families was announced on the very first day, even though no amount could compensate for the loss of life.

READ MORE: Gul Plaza fire is one of the worst tragedies in the history of Karachi: JI

He announced that each victim’s family would receive Rs10 million as compensation, adding that the funds had already been released and the commissioner had been directed to distribute the money after verification. He also announced Rs5 lakh in immediate subsistence assistance for each affected shopkeeper to help them restart their businesses.

The Chief Minister said two buildings had been identified to provide alternative shops to affected traders — one with 500 shops and another with 350 shops. He said building owners had agreed not to charge rent for one year. He added that within two months, all shopkeepers would be provided alternative locations and efforts would be made to keep the shops rent-free for up to two years.

Murad Ali Shah further announced that through Sindh Enterprise Limited, each shopkeeper would be provided an interest-free loan of Rs10 million, with the Sindh government acting as guarantor and paying the interest. He said compensation for damaged goods would be provided to traders through the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

The Chief Minister announced that Gul Plaza would be rebuilt within two years in its original form, and the number of shops would remain the same as before, with not a single additional shop added.

He also said a citywide audit of buildings had begun and more than 300 buildings had already been inspected. Buildings lacking safety arrangements would be given a short deadline to comply, failing which they would be sealed. He added that legislation was being prepared to make insurance mandatory for all buildings.

Reiterating his stance, Murad Ali Shah said an FIR would be registered in the Gul Plaza case and all responsible individuals would be punished. Without naming the MQM, he said those who approved backdated leases in the past were now presenting resolutions against them in the National Assembly.

Following the Chief Minister’s speech, members of the MQM and Jamaat-e-Islami stood up from their seats and raised slogans, prompting the Speaker to ask them to sit down and follow the Assembly rules.

Earlier, Secretary Environment Hassan Ali Shah informed the Sindh Assembly that keeping coastal areas clean is not the responsibility of his department but falls under the jurisdiction of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). He admitted that pollution exists in Karachi’s coastal areas.

He was responding to written and supplementary questions during the Question Hour of the Sindh Assembly.

MQM member Kiran Masood asked whether there was any plan in Sindh to collect and store rainwater. In reply, Hassan Ali Shah said that work was underway on the issue and that drainage channels were also being constructed along the Hub Canal.

PTI legislator Sajjad Ali Soomro said that the absence of any coastal cleaning plan reflected government incompetence. Responding to this, Hassan Ali Shah said that coastal cleanup activities were already in progress, but maintaining cleanliness was the responsibility of the KMC and the local administration. He added that treatment plants were already installed at the coastline and more were being set up.

During the proceedings, several calling attention notices highlighting issues of public importance were also discussed.

MQM member Aamir Siddiqui raised the issue of severe water shortage in his constituency, stating that residents had been demanding a solution for the past two years but no action had been taken.

He said a Water Board engineer was supplying water through a 13-inch line and that the water situation in the entire area had become critical. Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said that an inquiry would be conducted into the matter.

MQM member Fouzia Hameed raised a calling attention notice regarding the cutting of trees around the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine in Clifton.

She said trees play a vital role in controlling environmental pollution and that their cutting was illegal. Responding to this, Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said the concerns were valid but clarified that only harmful trees had been removed. He said Conocarpus trees were cut and assured that strict action would be taken if any other trees were removed.

Syed Muhammad Usman, in his calling attention notice, highlighted the importance of Shahrah-e-Faisal police station and said that eight SHOs had been changed in the past 19 months, sometimes within five days. He urged the government to formulate a policy defining the tenure of SHOs.

Interior Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar said that SHO transfers fall under the authority of the SSP. He added that he had never directed any SSP regarding SHO transfers and said the current SHO had been posted for the past three months. He warned that police performance would be affected if interference continued in such matters.

MQM member Naseer Ahmed raised the issue of encroachments on the road from Surjani Town to Manghopir, saying that he had written several letters but no action had been taken. Local Government Minister Nasir, Syed Hussain Shah said that an anti-encroachment drive had been launched across the province on the instructions of the Sindh Chief Minister and that a major operation was also underway in Karachi. He assured that action would be taken in the identified area as well.

Meanwhile, MQM lady lawmaker, Qurat Ul Ain Khan’s adjournment motion regarding announced and unannounced load-shedding in Karachi was referred, on the recommendation of the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, to the Sindh Assembly committee formed to oversee power distribution companies.

The Sindh Assembly also passed an amendment bill related to the removal of encroachments from public property and approved the NICVD Sindh Administration Act bill. Following the proceedings, the Sindh Assembly session was adjourned until Monday at 3:00 pm.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026