Author: News Desk

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Monday criticised what he called an “unfortunate tradition” in the city of turning major tragedies into political point-scoring exercises instead of uniting people.

“Whenever a tragedy happens, instead of bringing people’s hearts together, we start negative politics, we start blaming each other,” Wahab told reporters during a late night visit to Gul Plaza on Monday. 

“You have plenty of time for politics. You will find many issues on which you can do politics. But doing politics on matters of humanity is inappropriate.”

When asked about reactions to his visits to the site, Wahab said such criticism reflected the character of those passing the remarks. “We are focused on our responsibility. We will fulfill that responsibility. Let those who want to criticize be ready for it,” he said.

The mayor confirmed that authorities had identified around 20 bodies and that approximately 80 people remained missing. He offered assurances that rescue operations will continue until all missing persons are located.

Wahab also appeared on a TV program where he outlined three major decisions taken by the Sindh government. 

“An inquiry committee has been formed under the leadership of the Karachi Commissioner. One crore rupees will be given to the families of each deceased person. A committee has also been formed to address the losses suffered by traders,” he said.

The mayor revealed that following a fire on Rashid Minhas Road, authorities conducted fire safety audits of more than 600 buildings and shared the report with the Sindh Chief Minister.

“Gul Plaza’s construction plan was approved in 1998, with irregularities,” Wahab said. 

He confirmed that all relevant departments remained on alert as crews worked to remove vehicles and motorcycles from the plaza’s roof.

The blaze broke out at one of Karachi’s oldest shopping malls on M.A. Jinnah Road on Saturday night, and continued burning for more than 24 hours. According to reports, the death toll had risen to 26 by Monday, with one firefighter among the casualties while dozens still remain missing.

Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah has announced Rs10 million compensation for each family that lost a member in Karachi’s Gul Plaza fire, also pledging to rebuild the destroyed building.

Addressing a press conference in the port city on Monday, CM Shah said the fire was a major incident and indicated that authorities might need to demolish the entire building due to the extent of the damage.

“Firefighters and rescue teams are attempting to enter the building from three separate points, but the fire has not yet been fully extinguished,” he said.

The blaze, which began late Saturday, raged for more than 30 hours before authorities brought it under control, with cooling operations continuing at the site. 

CM Shah said the distribution of monetary aid to victims’ families will begin tomorrow and the focus now centres on correcting mistakes and preventing future incidents.

An inquiry into the incident will take place under the supervision of the Karachi commissioner, he said.

“In such incidents, every expert must be allowed to do their job without obstruction,” the provincial chief executive said and confirmed that authorities will also take steps to compensate shopkeepers who suffered losses in the fire.

The inquiry committee will determine the causes of the fire and highlight any lapses.

Earlier, the CM chaired a meeting attended by provincial ministers, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and other officials to receive a briefing on the incident.

“I want to take all necessary steps for the rehabilitation of all victims of Gul Plaza,” he said during the meeting.

Instructed officials to start clearing the debris immediately, he highlighted the need for a forensic investigation to determine the fire’s cause. The chief secretary was also directed to formally notify the fact-finding committee.

He confirmed that all traders’ representatives agreed that authorities should restore businesses immediately, and the committee will decide how to implement their suggestions.

The CM also revealed that both President Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto have been in constant contact, urging immediate restoration of traders’ businesses and urgent action for the affected traders.

Meanwhile, at least 15 bodies were recovered, five of them beyond identification, from the building. The number of missing persons, on the other hand, has risen to 73.

Punjab’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed to have foiled major terror plans with the arrest of 49 suspected terrorists during a month-long province-wide crackdown. 

The operation also included the arrest of a “dangerous operative” allegedly linked to India’s intelligence agency RAW.

CTD officials identified the suspect as Mujtaba, who was arrested during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the provincial capital.

A large quantity of explosives and maps of important buildings were also recovered, indicating plans to target sensitive installations in multiple cities.

In a statement, a CTD spokesperson said the arrests were made after 425 IBOs across Punjab to pre-empt potential terrorist activity. During these operations, 427 suspects were also questioned.

Thr 49 arrests were made across multiple districts, including Lahore, Sahiwal, Rawalpindi, Toba Tek Singh, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Jhelum, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Chiniot, Pakpattan, Khushab, Okara, Attock, Sheikhupura, and Vehari.

As per the details of recovered arms, CTD  seized 16,480 grams of explosives, two hand grenades, 36 detonators, 58 feet of safety fuse wire, six improvised explosive devices (IEDs), pamphlets and magazines of banned organisations, SIM cards, mobile phones and cash.

The spokesperson said that 44 cases had been registered against the arrested individuals, with further investigation ongoing to determine their networks and facilitators.

Separately, CTD, with support from local police and other security agencies, conducted 6,131 combing operations across the province. During these operations, 243,546 individuals were checked, 599 suspects arrested, 568 FIRs registered and 477 recoveries made.

Reaffirming its commitment to security, the CTD spokesperson said the department would continue action against terrorists and anti-state elements and urged citizens to report suspicious activity to the CTD Punjab helpline at 0800-11111.