SHC appoints Justice Agha Faisal to lead Gul Plaza inferno inquiry

Accepting the Sindh government's request, the provincial high court on Wednesday appointed Justice Agha Faisal to conduct the inquiry into the causes of Karachi's Gul Plaza fire tragedy.

On the night of January 17, a devastating fire broke out at Gul Plaza, a multi-storey building on Karachi’s MA Jinnah Road, claiming the lives of at least 80 people. The blaze, which reportedly started on the ground floor, quickly spread through the building, leaving dozens injured, while several bodies remain unidentified.

In the aftermath, political tensions in the city have escalated, with calls for federal or military oversight, a judical inquiry of the matter and a sharp exchange of accusations between the Muutahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party in Sindh.

The Sindh government announced last week that the investigation into the Gul Plaza tragedy would be conducted through a judicial commission. Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said the high court would be requested to appoint a serving judge to review and decide the matter. He had clarified that the judicial commission was not formed at the request of any political party.

The Sindh High Court registrar sent a letter today to the Sindh home secretary saying that Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput had nominated Justice Faisal as a single-member commission to probe the incident's causes for a period to be fixed and notified by the provincial government.

It said the Sindh government's request was considered keeping in view the provisions of Section 3 of the Sindh Tribunals of Inquiry Ordinance, 1969.