Shoddy probe

A fire that turned Gul Plaza into a graveyard cannot end with an investigation that merely identifies the easiest targets. Yet that is precisely the danger emerging from the police probe into one of Karachi's deadliest urban tragedies. The rejection of the charge sheet by a judicial magistrate has exposed not only weaknesses in the investigation but also the deeper problem of how institutional failures are often ignored when accountability is sought.

The court's observations should concern every citizen. An investigating officer tasked with uncovering the truth was unable to explain the roles of various government departments and failed to incorporate key documents into the case record. These are not technical mistakes that can be dismissed as procedural lapses. They raise fundamental questions about whether the investigation was designed to uncover responsibility or simply to complete a formality. While any person found responsible for violations must face the law, the investigation cannot stop at those who operated businesses inside the building.

The provincial authorities must ensure that a reinvestigation is ordered and not conducted as another routine exercise. It should be handed to a competent team with no connection to the earlier shortcomings, empowered to examine the role of every individual and institution involved. More importantly, its findings must be made public so that citizens can see whether accountability has been applied fairly. The Gul Plaza fire must not become another case where responsibility is diluted over time and the burden of failure falls only on ordinary citizens. The victims of Gul Plaza do not need a convenient investigation. They need the truth. And the truth can only emerge when the entire chain of responsibility is examined without fear or favour.