Save Karachi

[ghazi52]

Despite the frequency and scale of such incidents, accountability has remained elusive. Investigations are rarely concluded, recommendations are seldom implemented, and the same hazards persist, leaving citizens exposed to repeated tragedy.

Below is a timeline of major fire incidents in Karachi over the past three years, showing how regularly the city is engulfed in flames — and how little appears to change.

January 16, 2026

At least 20 containers were destroyed when a fire erupted at the Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT). No casualties were reported as workers had gone for Friday prayers. A total of 20 fire tenders from the Rescue services, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) Fire Brigade, KPT and the Pakistan Navy brought the blaze under control within three hours.

December 22, 2025

A fire broke out at the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Landhi and was brought under control after several hours. No casualties were reported since factory workers had already left the building that evening.

More than 15 fire tenders, including two snorkels, managed to control the fire by around 8:50pm. Cooling operations continued late into the night.

December 4, 2025

The building of a garment factory in the EPZ collapsed after a fire erupted there, injuring two firefighters.

November 23, 2025

A fire that broke out in a freight train at Cantt Station destroyed dried fruits, solar inverters and batteries inside the two bogies that were completely gutted.

The same day, two people became unconscious due to smoke inhalation when a fire erupted in a high-rise building in the Soldier Bazaar area on Sunday evening. The shop where the fire erupted was destroyed in the blaze.

November 2, 2025

No casualties were reported when a fire erupted near Munawar Chowrangi in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, although more than 300 huts were destroyed, along with motorcycles and sewing machines, while some goats were also killed.

Four fire tenders managed to control the blaze in as many hours.

Separately, a woman and her 25-year-old daughter were killed when a fire erupted inside a house near Shah Faisal Chowk in Orangi Town.

 

[ghazi52]

October 27, 2025

One person was killed in a fire outside Karachi University, which engulfed a nearby graveyard, damaged some graves, and destroyed around 10-20 huts (makeshift houses). The fire also reached a nearby housing complex, which prompted citizens to vacate their flats.

It took around 12 fire tenders to control the blaze.

October 15, 2025
Five people, including two children, suffered burns when a fire erupted in a candle factory in the Sher Shah area, while one person was injured by a falling structure.

The fire destroyed the industrial unit, as well as two nearby warehouses and four residential properties.

October 8, 2025
No casualties were reported after a fire erupted in a plastic factory in Liaquatabad early in the morning. Three fire tenders managed to contain the blaze, which appeared to have been caused by a short circuit.

September 27, 2025
Two women died of suffocation, and nine people were injured in a fire that erupted in a four-storey building in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA).

Rescue officials said the fire erupted in a car showroom situated on the ground floor of the residential-cum-commercial building in DHA Phase-II and spread rapidly to other floors. Six fire tenders rushed to the scene and managed to control the blaze, which officials say was likely caused by a short circuit.

September 9, 2025
At least four firemen and one cameraman of a private TV channel were injured when a fire destroyed a garment factory in New Karachi Industrial Area.

The blaze erupted around 6:30am and the factory building collapsed around noon. Police say the presence of diesel drums compounded the fire, which spread rapidly and engulfed two more industrial units in its vicinity. The fire was eventually brought under control around 3:15pm.

August 21, 2025
Six people died, and 33 were injured when a fire broke out in a warehouse near Karachi’s Taj Medical Complex on MA Jinnah Road. The deaths were said to be a result of “multiple crush injuries and suffocation”, according to a medico-legal official.

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

Emotions flare in Sindh Assembly as opposition assails govt for ‘failed operation’ at Gul Plaza​

MQM-P stages walk out; Saeed Ghani assures MPAs that the affected traders will be supported

Our Correspondent
January 19, 2026

Lawmakers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) expressed immense concern on Gul Plaza incident, chanting slogans against Sindh Government. PHOTO: Screengrab MQM X handle

KARACHI: Opposition lawmakers assailed the provincial government in the Sindh Assembly on Monday over what they said was a "failed rescue operation" to save lives and control the blaze at Karachi's Gul Plaza shopping centre.

Lawmakers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) expressed immense concern and walked out of the house while chanting slogans against the government while members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) remained present.

Sindh Minister for Labour Saeed Ghani assured the MPAs that the Sindh government would not abandon the affected traders and take all possible measures to restore businesses, compensate the families of the deceased and prevent similar incidents in future.

The session, chaired by Deputy Speaker Naveed Anthony, began with a delay of one hour and 18 minutes. At the outset, the house observed a somber atmosphere as members from both treasury and opposition benches expressed grief over the tragedy and offered prayers for the deceased.

As proceedings began, Ghani sought permission to make a statement on the incident. MQM-P members susbequently stood up, demanding that they should be allowed to speak first.

 

[ghazi52]

 

[Distant_Observer]

Sindh and Karachi are being run like a central african republic. They are truly incompetent in every facet of governance.

How can your economy improve when only one province is firing? Declare governer rule and get rid of this useless PPP. Sindh will welcome the change, they are progressive people unlike KP.

 

[ghazi52]

Gul Plaza, SBCA, and the human cost of bad governance​

Buildings become death traps not because the rules are unclear, but because enforcement has been deliberately neutralised.

Imtiaz Bhatti
January 19, 2026

The devastating fire at Gul Plaza, a landmark shopping centre on Karachi’s MA Jinnah Road, is not merely an accident or an unfortunate lapse in safety compliance. It is a grim reminder that poor governance kills.

As rescue operations continue and the death toll rises in the aftermath, what is already evident is that this tragedy was foreseeable, preventable, and rooted in institutional failure rather than fate.

Gul Plaza was an old, densely packed commercial building with hundreds of shops spread across its basement and upper floors, with inadequate emergency exits and fire safety systems.

Despite its prominence and heavy daily footfall, reports indicate that the building lacked critical emergency exits and fire-venting infrastructure — features that should have been enforced long ago by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA). Ensuring compliance with these standards is not optional; it is the statutory responsibility of the authority charged with public safety.

 

[ghazi52]

Death toll in Gul Plaza fire rises to 30 as rescue enters fourth day​

Over 80 still missing as rescue teams battle smoke and heat days after blaze

Abbas Naqvi
January 21, 2026l

Rescue workers search amid the debris using excavators after a massive fire at a shopping mall in Karachi. Photo: AFP

The death toll from the massive fire at Gul Plaza on Karachi's MA Jinnah Road rose to 30 on Wednesday as more than 80 people remain missing with rescue teams continuing to search the rubble under hazardous conditions.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed confirmed the toll to The Express Tribune, adding that there was concern it could rise further with the examination of more remains recovered from the rubble underway.

 

[ghazi52]

According to the revised No Objection Certificate for sale and advertisement (KBCA/DA/DCB-1/Revised/98-4/98/08 dated September 21, 1998), approval was granted for 175 shops in the basement, 355 on the ground floor, 188 on the first floor, 193 on the second floor, and 191 on the third floor.

Records show that Gul Plaza was permitted up to three floors, including the basement. The basement was initially designated for parking; however, parking was later shifted to the fourth floor and the roof by the management. Under the original approved plan, a total of 1,102 shops were permitted in the plaza, and the building had six staircases and 16 exit routes leading to the ground floor.

As per SBCA records, the regularisation plan was approved by the body under its authorised powers, with approval number KBCA/DCB(A)/Saddar Town/Reg.Comp/2003/67/28 dated April 14, 2003. Under this approval, the building was sanctioned for a basement, ground floor, and three upper floors (B+G+3). The total number of regularised shops is approximately 1,102.

 

[El Sidd]

Karachi seems like a test of faith for both Ansars and Muhajireens. The city is named after an oppressed woman and hence suffers such fate. Even patron Saint of the city, Ghazi, seem helpless in elevating the human condition.

 

[NA71]

Systematic destruction of karachi socio-economic life will continue....while PPP under the support of our establishment preparing Bilawal as next PM.....

 

[NA71]

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[ghazi52]

Comedian Tabish Hashmi believes the citizens of Karachi could do a better job running the city​

Let's privatise the city and hand it over to the people who live in it, he said during a recent talkshow.

Images Staff
22 Jan, 2026

Comedian and actor Tabish Hashmi wants Karachi’s management to be privatised and handed over to the citizens of this city, because even if they try, the standard can’t be worse than it already is — and RJ Anoushey Ashraf agrees.

While analysing the Gul Plaza fire on a Geo talkshow, Report Card, an exasperated Hashmi said the city should be run as a unified power by communities residing in Karachi instead of the government.

“The way the government realised that they can’t run PIA and privatised it, please privatise Karachi the same way. We Karachiites, Pathan, Baloch, Sindhi, Muhajirs, all Punjabis that are here, we will buy Karachi together. If this is the criterion and standard of running Karachi, then we will do it. We might even run it better, because even despite trying, we won’t be able to do a worse job than this.”

 

[ghazi52]

 

[NA71]

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