• Asks police authorities to appoint DSP for proper investigation
• Deputy district prosecutor says he had already returned charge sheet three times due to defects

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Thursday rejected the charge sheet in the Gul Plaza fire case, observing that the investigating officer (IO) had not conducted a thorough and satisfactory investigation and directed the SSP Investigation to appoint a DSP for further investigation.

Earlier, in the charge sheet filed by the police before a court on July 4, six persons had been named as accused — 11-year-old Huzaifa; his father, Naimatullah, who owned an artificial flower shop; and Gul Plaza Traders Association president Tanveer Pasta along with its members Ammar Ismail, Muhammad Ramzan, and Muhammad Ameen.

On Thursday, Judicial Magistrate (South) Asim Aslam took up the matter on an application seeking a re-investigation into the incident. During the proceeding, the court observed that IO Pervaiz Ahmed Bhutto had failed to respond to multiple queries. At one stage, when asked to explain the respective roles, mandates and scope of various departments, the court observed that the IO was unable to draw even the most basic distinction between their specific duties and functions.

The judge also asked the IO whether he had included the inquiry report submitted by the commissioner of Karachi into the Gul Plaza fire in the police file. The IO initially denied it. However, when the court pointed out that the report was already part of the police file, the IO apologised before the court.

During the proceedings, Deputy District Prosecutor Muhammad Arif Sitai, who had pointed out defects in the charge sheet earlier during his scrutiny, appeared before the court and informed the judge that he had returned the charge sheet three times, directing the IO to rectify the deficiencies.

He stated that he had asked the IO to investigate those officials who had granted unauthorised approvals or permissions related to the building.

He further submitted that the KMC had issued a notice to the management of Gul Plaza in 2022 over the absence of adequate fire safety arrangements. However, he said the IO was also directed to ascertain what action, if any, the KMC had taken when the notice was allegedly ignored.

At that point, when the court asked the IO about the scrutiny note, it transpired that he had neither made it part of the police file nor placed it on record, and the document was found to be missing from the police file.

At this stage, defence counsel Advocate Shaikh Jawaid Mir provided the copy of the note to the court.

Meanwhile, Prosecutor Abdul Razzaq Gujjar, who had forwarded the charge sheet after signing it to the court, also appeared before the court. The judge asked him whether he was satisfied with the investigation and the charge sheet.

The prosecutor said he forwarded the charge sheet but he was not satisfied with it.

During his arguments, defence counsel Advocate Shaikh Jawaid Mir pointed out that even fire extinguishers installed outside the courtroom appeared to be several years old and had rusted.

After hearing all the sides, the court rejected the earlier filed charge sheet and ordered the SSP investigation to appoint an officer of the rank of DSP for further investigation.

The court also bound the IO to submit the report within 15 days as it observed that IO Bhutto “failed to investigate the matter whether the incident could have been averted or there was any criminal negligence on behalf of the concerned authorities”.

In its detailed order, the court highlighted lacunas in the investigation.

The court also instructed the investigator to identify, by name and designation, the officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) responsible for the area during the relevant period and determine whether any criminal negligence on their part was made out.

Regarding Rescue 1122, the court directed the investigator to determine its operational response on the night of the incident and examine its coordination with the fire brigade and police at the scene.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2026