Gul Plaza president admits absence of fire safety lights as questions mount over mezzanine traps and safety failures

Karachi: As the city continues to mourn one of the deadliest fire incidents in its history, serious questions are being raised about safety measures and emergency response following the devastating blaze at Gul Plaza on M.A. Jinnah Road, Karachi.

The fire has claimed at least 28 lives, while dozens of people are still reported missing. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.

After the incident, the President of the Gul Plaza Market Association, Tanveer Pasta, said the fire erupted at an artificial flower shop on the ground floor. He stated that initial firefighting efforts were undertaken before he contacted K-Electric and requested an immediate shutdown of electricity to prevent the fire from spreading. According to him, power was cut within five to seven minutes.

However, reports suggest that the sudden blackout plunged the building into complete darkness, triggering panic and severely hampering evacuation efforts, particularly due to the plaza’s narrow stairways connecting the mezzanine with the ground floor.

Speaking to ARY News, Pasta defended the decision, saying it is standard operating procedure to shut down electricity during a fire to prevent flames from spreading through electrical wiring. He added that had power not been cut, the fire could have spread further, potentially resulting in a higher number of casualties.

Pasta claimed that a small 12-volt emergency light was installed on each passage to activate automatically in the event of a power outage. However, he admitted that Gul Plaza lacked dedicated fire safety and emergency exit lights that could have guided people safely out of the building, preventing panic, and aiding rescue workers.

Several videos circulating on social media show people trapped inside the plaza, struggling to find exits amid thick smoke and darkness, intensifying public concern over the building’s safety preparedness.

Building plan violations

Addressing reports that the plaza housed around 1,200 shops, Pasta disputed the figure, stating that the approved layout included 1,071 shops. He explained that some shop owners had later subdivided their units—such as splitting a single shop into multiple sections, for ex converting Shop 33 into 33A and 33B — which increased the total number of shops.

His admissions have raised further concerns about regulatory oversight and the role of both market management and government authorities in allowing such structural and safety violations.

During the programme, journalist Waseem Badami shared his personal observations regarding severe congestion inside the plaza and again questioned whether the electricity shutdown contributed to panic and worsened the situation. Pasta failed to provide a clear or satisfactory response.

Pasta further stated that the ground floor and basement were evacuated within 10 to 15 minutes of the fire. However, he acknowledged that approximately 55 to 60 people remained trapped on the mezzanine floor.

He did not clearly explain why so many people were unable to evacuate from the mezzanine level, stating only that a large number of people were present there at the time.