THIS is with reference to the report ‘Prosecution seeks inclusion of Gul Plaza inquiry report in charge sheet’ (July 4). The submission of the Gul Plaza Judicial Commission’s report to the provincial government marks a defining moment for Karachi’s urban governance. The critical report must not be allowed to gather dust on bureaucratic shelves like countless inquiries have done before it.

The commission’s proceedings thus far have already laid bare a terrifying reality: Gul Plaza was a commercial death trap, entirely devoid of functional firefighting infrastructure, emergency alarms and safe evacuation routes. Worse, when tragedy struck, the emergency response was choked by systemic failures — from urban bottlenecks and encroachments on M.A. Jinnah Road to a critical, systemic delay in water supply that exposed the deep rot within municipal coordination.

The government needs to deal with two critical challenges. First is the issue of transparency. The registrar’s note that publishing the report remains the “prerogative of the government” is a test of political will. Public trust demands that this report be made public immediately and without redactions. Second, the government’s directive to demolish the structure to ground zero introduces a complex legal and economic puzzle.

While structurally necessary, it must be accompanied by transparent, court-monitored compensation and resettlement for the affected traders. If Gul Plaza is demolished for safety non-compliance, the rule of consistency dictates that the same strict standard must be legally applied to hundreds of other compromised high-rise structures across the metropolis.

For the lives lost to mean anything, the government must move past mere bureaucratic suspensions. We need criminal prosecution for manslaughter against negligent officials, immediate statutory fire safety legislation with strict sealing powers, and a unified command for emergency services.

The Gul Plaza inquiry must not simply be an autopsy of a grave tragedy; it must be taken as the blueprint that saves the city from its own unchecked urban decay.

M.A. Solangi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2026