Gul Plaza tragedy: Sharjeel calls minister's statement 'nonserious'

KARACHI: Sindh’s Information Minister Sharjeel Memon has called the statement of State Minister Huzaifa Rehman as ‘nonserious’ while talking in ARY News talks show ‘Bakhabar Sawera’.

“The world seeing it when the fire was raging, was it necessary to inform with phone call,” Sindh’s minister questioned. “If federal government had any technology available, they should have offer it,” provincial minister said. “We didn’t prevent anyone from it”.

He said, “The fire safety audit report was prepared in 2024 during the interim government. The chief minister could not be held responsible for everything,” provincial minister said.

“An inquiry of Gul Plaza tragedy will be conducted, and action will be taken against any person found to be negligent,” minister added.

A massive fire at Gul Plaza shopping mall on M.A. Jinnah Road late Saturday night, January 17, left the city in shock, claiming lives and leaving many unaccounted for.

While the blaze has now been extinguished, the building remains structurally unstable. Rescue teams, supported by the Army, Rangers, and civil authorities, continue searching for missing persons, while engineers assessed the damaged structure.

Authorities have set up help desks and DNA collection centres to assist in identification of deceased, and families of the missing are coordinating with officials.

Recovery and search operations are ongoing at Gul Plaza after authorities confirmed the discovery of a large number of bodies from a single shop, sharply raising death toll in the tragic incident.

Officials said around 30 bodies were recovered from one shop during the operation. The Additional Inspector General of Karachi confirmed the recovery, while police said the death toll in the Gul Plaza tragedy has reached 63. SSP City Police said the bodies were found in a charred condition inside Dubai Crockery, a shop located at Gul Plaza.