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Actor Saba Qamar has praised the Punjab government, saying she has been “observing the changes taking place across Punjab for some time” and that the recent speech by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif “reflected real commitment to improvement.”

In an Instagram story shared on Wednesday, Qamar wrote: “I’ve been observing the changes taking place across Punjab for some time, and the recent speech by the Chief Minister reflected real commitment to improvement. Any step taken toward better governance, public welfare, and development deserves appreciation. Progress benefits everyone and I truly hope this positive momentum continues for Punjab and its people.”

She posted the comments after Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif issued a series of directives aimed at improving public safety, infrastructure, and governance across the province.

Earlier this week, the chief minister ordered a comprehensive audit of fire safety systems in public and private buildings throughout Punjab, days after a deadly fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza highlighted the risks posed by poor safety compliance. Chairing a high-level meeting, she directed authorities to ensure strict implementation of fire safety standards to prevent similar incidents.

CM Maryam Nawaz also instructed that roads be completely restored following any excavation carried out for sewerage and drainage projects. She emphasised that pits dug for development work in residential areas must be properly covered and fenced, and that manhole levels should be adjusted to prevent accidents. She further ordered the introduction of uniform, plastic-like manhole covers across the province.

To strengthen monitoring, she directed the establishment of control rooms and management cells in all deputy commissioner offices to oversee projects under the Punjab Development Plan (PDP). Officials informed her that transparency measures in PDP Phase-I had saved approximately Rs2.8 billion.

The chief minister also approved sewerage, drainage, disposal, and water storage projects in Sargodha, Dera Ghazi Khan, Gujrat, and Jhang, along with plans for trunk sewerage systems, new disposal stations, and rainwater drainage networks in Jhelum, Hafizabad, and Okara.

Highlighting urban beautification, she called for the creation of green belts and recreational spaces in every city and directed that a single utility corridor be established to avoid repeated excavations in neighbourhoods. She also ordered the proper placement of electricity poles along road edges, organised overhead wiring, and the installation of streetlights across tehsils.

Television host Tabish Hashmi has called for placing Karachi under a single authority and suggested privatising the city, saying repeated incidents such as the fire at Gul Plaza point to long-standing governance failures and absence of accountability.

Speaking on a private news channel’s program, he suggested privatisation as an option if governance failures continued. “If the government realised it could not run PIA and decided to privatise it, then Karachi should also be privatised. We, the people of Karachi Pathan, Baloch, Sindhi, Muhajir, Punjabi will handle it ourselves. If this is the current standard of governance, we can run it better, because it cannot be run worse than this,” Hashmi said.

Hashmi said Gul Plaza carried personal significance for residents across generations, recalling its place in everyday life for families in the city. He said the fire reflected how shared spaces in Karachi were being lost one by one.

Safety lapses linked to the incident were not new and should have been identified through routine inspections by relevant authorities. “Across the world, it is the job of departments and local governments to inspect buildings, especially older ones,” he said.

Referring to statements by senior officials following the incident, Hashmi questioned claims of accountability. “Accountability does not happen just because someone says, ‘I am accountable.’ Accountability is a process,” he said. He added that similar incidents had occurred repeatedly over the years. “This was not the first incident. Fires have happened before. Children have died in dumper accidents.”

He also questioned the practice of compensating victims without personal consequences for those in authority. “The compensation that is announced does not come out of their own pockets. It comes from taxpayers’ money. So how is that accountability?” Hashmi said.
Drawing on his experience in senior corporate roles, he said consistent failures would normally lead individuals to step aside. “If someone keeps giving excuses in front of a board or a boss, an educated person eventually realises that maybe they are not fit for that role,” he said.

Calling for structural change, he added Karachi could not function under fragmented control. “Karachi needs to be run under one unified power. When there are 36 different authorities, nothing can work”.