After the flames, questions remain
The horrific fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza has plunged the entire nation into grief. Over a single cursed night, flames engulfed one of the busiest shopping centres in the port city, leaving dozens dead, scores missing, and countless families shattered by the unimaginable loss of loved ones. For many survivors, the scene resembled a living nightmare: smoke-filled corridors, blocked emergency exits, and the deafening cries of those trapped inside. What was meant to be a routine shopping trip turned into a fight for life against an out-of-control blaze. As minutes turned into hours and hours into days, the darkness of despondence clouded the eyes of hopeful families and the criminal loopholes in the country’s fire safety systems could no longer be covered by the blame game.
The tragedy, which appears to have claimed the lives of nearly 73 people, was anything but an accident. It was fuelled by years of systemic neglect and inadequate emergency protocols. Dysfunctional hoses, absent or expired fire extinguishers, locked doors, and congested streets prevented firefighters from reaching the scene in time, turning a preventable blaze into a mass casualty disaster. Men, women, children, and expecting mothers who sauntered into the plaza eyeing gadgets, crockery, toys or baby clothes confronted smoke, chaos, helplessness and death. In no time, Gul Plaza – the thriving lifeline of thousands of traders and millions of households – transformed into a ghostly graveyard. A scorched monument reminding ordinary citizens that their lives were not worth protecting.
As Karachi reels from the heart-wrenching calamity, critical questions are being raised over the safety of commercial and residential buildings across the nation. From high-rise offices to crowded marketplaces, the lack of a regulated fire safety mechanism including functional fire alarms, clearly marked exits, and prompt emergency services leaves ordinary citizens exposed to risks that could otherwise be mitigated. Rescue teams and fire brigades often struggle to reach urban centres quickly due to congested roads, poor infrastructure, and insufficient equipment, further exacerbating the danger and raising the likelihood of evitable disasters like that at Gul Plaza.
Beyond the ineffable loss of lives and livelihoods, the Gul Plaza tragedy is a grim reminder of what happens when safety measures are treated as optional and enforcement as an afterthought. Across Pakistan, densely populated markets, residential complexes, and commercial buildings operate in hazardous conditions, where outdated wiring and ignored fire regulations make catastrophic fires not a question of “if” but “when”. This latest disaster is a wake-up call: without systemic reform, stricter enforcement, and widespread public awareness, more lives will continue to be lost to preventable fires, leaving the nation to grieve over a repeating tragedy that could, and should, have been avoided in the first place.
Glimpse of hell
The deadly blaze at Karachi’s Gul Plaza is a stark reminder of how quickly negligence can turn fatal. Like most commercial buildings in the city, the plaza lacked adequate fire safety systems. Investigations revealed that 13 of the building’s 16 exits were closed at the time of the fire, trapping shoppers unfamiliar with escape routes. With no emergency lighting system in place, once the electricity connections were disrupted, the building was plunged into darkness, making evacuation near impossible for those stuck inside. Despite trying their best to escape the death trap, countless victims lost hope and had no choice but to send desperate farewell voice notes to their loved ones who waited for them on the other side.
Conflicting accounts emerged regarding when the fire brigade was informed and how quickly tenders reached the site. Officials claimed engines arrived within minutes, yet logistical realities told a different story.
Gul Plaza is situated on MA Jinnah Road, one of Karachi’s busiest arteries, where construction linked to mass transit projects has narrowed roads and restricted movement. Even a fire engine located nearby could not reach the site without significant delays due to traffic and road closures. This incident demonstrates how urban planning failures can compound existing safety risks and highlights the urgent need for integrating disaster management into city planning.
Like Karachi, Lahore’s commercial buildings too have long been exposed to fire hazards. Authorities launched inspections in the wake of the Karachi tragedy, examining fire alarms, emergency exits, hydrants, and sprinkler systems in large shopping malls and high-rise buildings. Surveys revealed troubling trends: nearly 70 per cent of commercial buildings in Lahore do not fully comply with fire safety regulations. Outdated wiring, overloaded circuits, and non-functional safety equipment are widespread, highlighting systemic negligence. The human cost of this negligence is immense, as small traders risk not just property but their lives too in daily business operations.
Mian Usman Ahmed, a trader on Hall Road, Lahore, revealed that the risks have been ignored for decades. “The wiring is outdated, but building owners avoid spending money on repairs,” he said. “If a fire breaks out, shopkeepers have no option other than saving their own lives.” Similarly, Asif Khan, a trader in a Gulberg shopping mall, says that fire safety is widely viewed as an unnecessary expense. “Unless there is strict monitoring and effective fines, building owners will not take this seriously,” emphasised Khan. These statements underscore the fact that economic considerations often outweigh safety concerns in densely populated markets.
Down south in Karachi, KMC spokesperson Daniyal Ali Shah claimed that after the Gul Plaza incident, the mayor of Karachi had directed that fire safety systems be installed in unsafe buildings across the city. “KMC has also sent a list of unsafe buildings to the builders’ association,” said Shah. “This list had been prepared by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), but it could not be implemented.” The list was prepared in 2024. In this regard, the SBCA conducted fire safety audits of 145 buildings in Karachi, which revealed that 80 per cent of the buildings did not have any fire safety systems installed.
In Peshawar, too, fire safety is equally concerning, particularly in older neighbourhoods and crowded markets. Rescue 1122 data revealed that a total of 5,691 fire incidents were reported across K-P last year. Most of these incidents were caused by electrical short circuits. In January 2024, a large blaze broke out in Karkhano Market, followed by another destructive fire in October 2024 at Saddar Bazaar’s mobile phone market. Janas Khan, a shopkeeper in Saddar Market, felt that the damage could have been prevented. “We often say that whatever happens is God’s will,” he told The Express Tribune, “but the truth is that if proper precautionary measures had been taken, such a huge loss could have been avoided.”
Hoses and hurdles
As fire incidents continue to plague urban centres, emergency response systems across Pakistan’s major cities are struggling. In Karachi, traffic congestion, encroachments, and road closures linked to development projects routinely delay fire tenders, while the absence of nearby hydrants and unreliable water supplies further cripple response efforts. The Gul Plaza blaze exposed how even when fire crews reach a site, the lack of water in hoses and tenders can render them ineffective.
In other cities too, this crisis of hoses and hurdles is endemic. Javed Khan, a local from Gulbahar, points out that the system often appears ill-prepared in the face of fire emergencies. “Sometimes even the water tanks of fire brigade vehicles are empty. This shows how serious the situation is,” he says. Khan also criticised the absence of aerial firefighting support. “Fires in congested inner-city areas require helicopter services, but we don’t have any. Our chief minister and provincial leadership are busy protesting for political causes instead of demanding essential facilities from the federal government.”
In Punjab alone, Rescue 1122 responded to 28,495 fire incidents in 2025. These incidents resulted in 99 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries, underscoring the scale of the challenge. Short circuits were identified as the leading cause of fires, followed by negligence, gas leaks, candle usage, and kitchen fires. Lahore reported the highest number of cases in the province, accounting for more than 5,000 incidents in a single year, while Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, and Multan also recorded significant losses.
Secretary Emergency Services Dr Rizwan Naseer revealed that in 2025, fire incidents in Punjab increased by 3.34 per cent compared to 2024, whereas in 2024 the increase was 35 per cent compared to 2023. “Building owners should ensure full compliance with the directives issued under the Punjab Community Safety Building Regulations 2022 so that people living and working in high-rise buildings remain safe,” said Dr Naseer. “A significant reduction in fire incidents can be achieved through precautionary measures at the domestic and commercial levels, regular fire safety audits, and awareness campaigns.”
Rescue 1122 Punjab spokesperson Farooq Ahmed explained that the department currently operates 316 fire and emergency vehicles and 815 ambulances across Punjab. Surveys of 2,000 high-rise buildings have been completed, with their layouts, videos, and safety details stored on a digital dashboard to assist responders during emergencies.
In Peshawar, residents and social workers confirmed that emergency preparedness remains inconsistent. Rescue 1122 K-P spokesperson Bilal Faizi added that the department operates three types of firefighting vehicles, with water capacities ranging from 3,000 to 12,000 gallons. “For fires in crowded markets and narrow streets, motorcycles and smaller vehicles are used to reach the site quickly. The department has more than 500 trained firefighters and a fleet of over 138 vehicles in K-P, including a 120-foot crane, motorcycles, and specialised units designed for hilly terrain,” said Faizi, who acknowledged that the lack of infrastructure, including hydrant reservoirs, continues to hamper operational effectiveness.
Weak enforcement of building regulations gives rise to hazardous incidents across the country. In Gulbahar, many buildings were constructed without approved maps or compliance with safety regulations, according to Khan who lives in the area. “No building rules are followed here,” he told The Express Tribune. “Everyone builds according to their own choice, while the government remains asleep,” he said, voicing a sentiment echoed by traders across the city. These repeated patterns across Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar suggest a systemic failure, where regulatory authorities lack both the capacity and the will to enforce existing safety laws. Unable to demand safety improvements from landlords or municipal authorities, vulnerable communities are exposed to glimpses of hell every now and then.
Burning under neglect
Despite comprehensive fire safety laws, experts believe Pakistan’s fire crisis stems not from the absence of rules but from poor enforcement. Legal frameworks clearly mandate fire alarms, hydrants, sprinkler systems, emergency lighting, and clearly marked exits. Compliance, however, is often treated as optional, particularly in crowded markets and older high-rise buildings.
Across cities, traders and residents describe a culture in which safety measures are largely ignored. Shah Alam Market trader Muhammad Saleem informed that many buildings in Lahore technically have fire extinguishers, but they are often unusable. “Either the extinguishers have expired or the staff does not know how to use them. Emergency exits are often blocked or filled with goods,” Saleem pointed out. Hence building safety experts warn that inspections are often reduced to paperwork exercises.
Dr Azhar Saleem, a faculty member at the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, disclosed that most buildings only meet requirements during initial inspections or when certificates are needed. “The problem is not the absence of laws but the lack of effective implementation. Many buildings have faulty fire alarms, expired extinguishers, and untrained staff. Furthermore, emergency exits are frequently blocked or used as storage rooms or offices, making timely evacuation impossible,” he added.
On the other hand, Rescue 1122 official Faizi highlighted the misuse of chemicals in factories and warehouses, which instigated fire hazards. “Sometimes the chemicals stored or used to control fires actually worsen the situation,” he said, urging for better regulation and awareness. “Without proper city-wide infrastructure, even a trained and well-equipped team cannot respond optimally,” he added, highlighting a systemic failure beyond the control of first responders.
Pakistan’s cities have a long history of fatal fires, with Karachi witnessing some of the deadliest incidents. In 2012, a blaze at a garment factory in Baldia Town killed over 260 workers and injured around 60, while a 2016 fire at Regent Plaza Hotel on Shahrah-e-Faisal claimed 12 lives and left 75 injured. In December 2023, a fire at the RJ Shopping Mall on Rashid Minhas Road killed 11 people, and in the same year, a fire at Arshi Shopping Mall in Karimabad killed four people. Similarly, in June 2025, a fire at Millennium Mall destroyed hundreds of shops, resulting in losses running into hundreds of millions of rupees.
The latest reports claim that more than 2,000 small and large fire incidents are reported every year in Karachi. These incidents demonstrate that fire safety challenges are structural, spanning urban planning, electrical infrastructure, building codes, and regulatory enforcement. Experts argue that meaningful change requires a shift from reactive to proactive strategies. Regular fire safety audits, strict penalties for violations, upgraded electrical systems, and sustained public awareness campaigns could significantly reduce casualties and losses. Without proactive governance, densely populated urban centres remain vulnerable to recurring tragedies.