Gul Plaza fire: Defence puts govt institutions in the dock

JIT plea rejected; prosecution says Tanveer Pasta showed 'highest degree of negligence'

KARACHI:

A judicial magistrate hearing the Gul Plaza fire case on Wednesday rejected a defence plea seeking the formation of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), observing that such teams were generally constituted in terrorism cases.

The court will decide at the next hearing whether to approve the charge sheet and whether government institutions should also be nominated as accused in the case.

Tanveer Pasta, President of the Gul Plaza Traders Association, and other accused appeared before the judicial magistrate (South) as the prosecution and defence exchanged arguments over alleged negligence in the deadly fire that claimed 80 lives.

Prosecutor Hassan Bhatti told the court that Pasta was guilty of the "highest degree of negligence", alleging that he failed to call the fire brigade after the blaze broke out.

Defence counsel Javed Mir, however, disputed the allegations and accused the new investigation officer (IO) of attempting to protect government institutions.

He said the court had previously ordered that government departments be included in the investigation but the latest charge sheet had given a clean chit to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Fire Brigade and other institutions.

Mir said the people had not died because of the fire but due to suffocation caused by the negligence and incompetence of govt institutions.

The lawyer further argued that the fire brigade had no water available and that people had continued screaming for help for around one-and-a-half hours.

Pasta also addressed the court and said people had remained alive for two to two-and-a-half hours after the fire broke out. "Five of my colleagues were martyred, but there is no mention of them in the charge sheet." He claimed that a snorkel had malfunctioned and that several lives could have been saved had it continued working. "I was saved by people; otherwise, I too would have died. Our people died, and we have been made accused," Pasta said while breaking down in tears.

The court rejected the defence plea for formation of a JIT and adjourned the hearing until September 18, when it will decide on approval of the charge sheet and the question of whether government institutions should be made accused in the case.