ON Nov 19, 1975, tragedy struck in one of Karachi’s neighbourhoods: Fayyaz Plaza, a three-storey housing complex on Rashid Minhas Road, collapsed. The incident claimed four lives, and the fear was that once the debris was cleared, the number of casualties might increase.

Two days later, a three-member committee was formed to check and control the quality of construction in private buildings in the city, particularly multi-storey flats within the limits of the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC). Three zonal sub-committees were also constituted. They were Lyari and old city area; trans-Lyari including Federal B Area, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Manghopir, Baldia; and Society and Drigh Road. The committees were responsible for checking all the work that was taking place on the plots allotted to construction companies. They were also empowered to suspend work by any company or at any house which used substandard material.

On Nov 22, an application for bail before arrest was moved by the owner and the architect of Fayyaz Plaza. The same day (Nov 22), it came to light that prices of flats and shops in multi-storey structures being built in Karachi by different companies had crashed in the real estate market by 20 percent following the Fayyaz Plaza collapse. It had shifted the focus of hundreds of property owners, architects, engineers and administrators to the performance of construction companies and the agencies responsible to keep an eye on them. Meanwhile, inquiries showed that it was just because of sheer luck that the plaza caved in a little before midnight. The vacant ground floor served as a dormitory for a large number of mill workers before and after their changes in shifts at midnight. Even so, it was feared that some workers might have been sleeping on that floor at the time. On the other hand, those who had booked flats in the project were worried about their investment.

On Nov 21, a different type of resting place grabbed the headlines. Princes Abida Sultan, a former ambassador, requested the Shahanshah of Iran through the government of Pakistan to allow the grave of Raja Sahib of Mahmudabad to be retained at the Bagh-i-Rizwan in Mashhad. (A report had indicated that the graveyard was being levelled in order for it to be made into a park.) She, in a statement issued from the Sindh capital, paid tribute to the late Raja sahib recalling his services to the cause of the Pakistan movement. “How much painful and shock-giving it will be if the mark of grave of Raja sahib of Mahmudabad is vanished under the scheme of conversion of Bagh-i-Rizwan into a public park where he was laid to rest after a most struggling life for the cause of Islam and humanity. It is needless to describe his qualities. He was bestowed by the Almighty with the qualities of which a true Muslim should possess. His manners, his habits, his movements, his words, his life and his death… all of them are a lesson for us to lead a successful life. His sacrifices are unforgettable,” she said.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2025