The Sindh government on Tuesday formally notified a single-member commission formed to further investigate the cause, among other things, of the deadly Gul Plaza inferno.

While the government had issued a notification appointing Justice Agha Faisal — who was nominated by the Sindh High Court (SHC) — as the judge for the task on February 4, the notification was officially published in the provincial Gazette today.

“The Commission of Inquiry will complete the inquiry within eight (08) weeks,” read the notification seen by Dawn.

The office of Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi would provide secretariat support to the commission, it added.

It should be mentioned that the Sindh government had decided to seek a judicial inquiry into the fire, which claimed at least 73 lives, took nearly two days to be fully extinguished and left over 1,100 shops in ruins.

The move came after a cabinet subcommittee of the PPP-led Sindh government reviewed a report submitted by a two-member team. They discussed the circumstances surrounding the fire incident at Gul Plaza and agreed that an independent judicial probe was necessary.

Though the decision followed Sindh’s major opposition parties’ unanimous rejection of the preliminary findings, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon refuted that it was due to “pressure” from the political opponents.

After conducting its own probe, the Sindh government had said multiple officials were suspended and some would face departmental action.

Terms of reference

As outlined in the Home Department’s notification earlier, the commission’s terms of reference (TORs) include ascertaining “the causes and circumstances leading to the fire incident at Gul Plaza Shopping Centre”.

It would also “examine and evaluate rescue operations for adequacy and swiftness”.

The commission was also mandated to “fix responsibility for any acts of commission or omission committed prior to and subsequent to the incident”.

Furthermore, it would assess whether Gul Plaza’s construction was “in violation of the approved building plan, leading to difficulty in evacuation of people”.

The SHC judge was also expected to examine whether building approvals and lease extensions from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), its predecessor organisations and the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) were granted in accordance with the applicable laws, rules and regulations.

Further, the commission would also have to assess the “arrangements in place at Gul Plaza building for fire prevention, detection and fire-fighting by building management as required under applicable laws and safety regulations”.

It would also determine 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.