• Amid moving scenes, 23 relatives of the deceased testify before judicial tribunal
• Say fire tenders ran out of water, no serious effort made to break walls and windows of the building to rescue people trapped inside
KARACHI: Moving scenes were witnessed before the judicial tribunal investigating the Gul Plaza inferno on Monday when 23 relatives of 33 deceased persons narrated their ordeal, pointing fingers at the rescue work, firefighting and slow response by authorities.
In their statements before the single-judge tribunal headed by Justice Agha Faisal of the Sindh High Court, they deposed that entry-exit points of Gul Plaza were closed, firefighters arrived late, ran out of water, lacked equipment and skill, while rescue authorities made no efforts to break the walls and windows to rescue people trapped inside.
Many of the witnesses broke into tears while testifying before the commission, which heard them at the Deputy Commissioner South Complex.
One of the witnesses, Haleem, deposed that his father and brother were inside the building when the fire broke out on Jan 17. He said his father lost his life and brother suffered injuries when he jumped out of the building to save his life.
He said firefighters faced a water shortage while the building’s electricity was switched off shortly after the fire broke out.
Witness Mohammad Hanif testified that his two sons were killed in the tragic incident. He said rescue officials made no efforts to break the walls and windows to rescue the people. He said police resorted to baton charge him and other relatives of the people trapped inside when they gathered near the plaza.
Another witness, Qaiser, whose wife, son and sister-in-law were killed in the blaze submitted before the tribunal that he had asked the recuse and firefighters to break a wall in order to rescue people, but to no avail.
He maintained that rescue authorities had lacked proper equipment and machinery.
Taj Mohammad, whose father was killed in the incident, blamed the fire and recuse officials for not fulfilling their responsibilities. He said that he, along with a cousin, managed to reach the rooftop of the building, but rescue officials did not brother to reach there in order to save people. One gate of the building was opened and other exit-entry points were closed, he added.
Saima, who lost her son in the incident, submitted that she and her daughter-in-law remained present outside the building for nine days, but the authorities did nothing to rescue their loved ones. She deposed that her other sons also participated in the rescue operation.
Shahnaz, whose son worked at one of the Gul Plaza shops and lost his life, broke into tears during her testimony.
Sanaullah said his sister was killed in the deadly fire and blamed the provincial and local authorities for the tragic incident.
Abdul Hafeez, who also lost his son, informed the tribunal that the firefighters were short of fuel and water.
Ahsan Ahmed, who lost his brother, also deposed that fire tenders were present on the spot but facing water shortage.
Mohammad Hadi said that his son was also killed in the fire, but an assistant commissioner asked him to file an affidavit about the presence of his son in the building at the time of incident.
Later, the tribunal provided the witnesses a questionnaire and asked them to submit it at the next hearing.
The commission sought reply to 17 questions about the arrival of fire tenders and rescue staff, proper equipment for rescue and firefighting, prompt availability of ambulances, whether police facilitate evacuation or create confusion and the roles of district administration and the management of ill-fated building.
The commission will also record the testimonies of various officials of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Sindh Building Control Authority, Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation, Sindh police, Gul Plaza Shopping Mall Association, K-Eclectic and others on Wednesday (tomorrow).
Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2026
