• Justice Agha Faisal of SHC to assess ‘causes, circumstances’ leading to tragedy within two months
• ToRs silent on govt response to fire that killed over 73 people

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Wednesday notified a one-man judicial commission after Sindh High Court Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput nominated Justice Agha Faisal to conduct a probe into the devastating Gul Plaza fire.

The judicial commission will ascertain the causes as well as circumstances leading to the fire. It will also probe into building approvals, lease extension and construction violations as well as assess prevention and firefighting arrangements at the building.

The terms of reference (ToRs) also say that the commission will also assess if fire safety audits had been carried out and whether recommendations were implemented by the building management, to evaluate rescue operations for adequacy and swiftness and to fix responsibility for commission or omission committed prior and subsequent to the incident.

Interestingly, the ToRs are silent on the responses of the government, the fire department, and relevant departments and agencies to the fire which claimed lives of over 73 people.

The judicial commission will complete its inquiry within eight weeks and the Karachi commissioner office will provide secretariat support to it.

According to a home department notification, “In accordance with Section 3 of the Sindh Tribunal of Inquiry Ordinance, 1969 and upon receipt of nomination from the Honourable High Court of Sindh vide letter No. Gaz/JE/ADJ (J) dated 4th February, 2026, Government of Sindh is pleased to appoint Mr. Justice Agha Faisal as single member Commission of Inquiry to probe the fire incident at Gul Plaza Shopping Center, Karachi”.

As per ToRs, the commission will examine if the building approvals and lease extensions by the Sindh Building Control Authority, its predecessor organisations and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation were in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.

It will also assess if the construction of Gul Plaza was in violation of the approved building plan leading to difficulty in evacuation of people. It will also evaluate arrangements in place at the building for fire prevention, detection and firefighting by building management as required under applicable laws and safety regulations.

The judicial commission will further probe if the building management or any government department/agency had carried out fire safety audits and whether the recommendations were implemented by the building management.

Earlier in the day, in response to the request of the Sindh government, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput nominated Justice Agha Faisal to conduct the judicial inquiry.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2026