Owners give govt 7-day ultimatum

Eight months after the Gul Plaza tragedy, the affected shop owners say the building's debris remains uncleared and reconstruction has yet to begin, prompting them to give the Sindh government a seven-day deadline to address their grievances.

Gul Plaza Owners Association General Secretary Arif Qadri said on Wednesday that around 850 shop owners, including more than 100 women, had lost their businesses in the deadly blaze, leaving some 1,200 families facing an uncertain economic future.

Addressing a protest camp set up by the association at the site of the demolished plaza, Qadri said nearly 800 affected shop owners had received neither relief nor compensation. "The government has compensated tenants, but the actual shop owners have received nothing," he said.

Qadri demanded the immediate removal of the debris and the announcement of a reconstruction plan, along with financial assistance for the affected traders. He warned that if the government failed to respond within seven days, the traders would stage a sit-in on MA Jinnah Road. "Stop forgetting us. Do not force us to cross the line," he said.

Business leader Abdul Rauf Ibrahim also warned of a prolonged protest and possible closure of MA Jinnah Road. He urged Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to personally hear the grievances of the affected traders. Ibrahim also called for an audit of the compensation distributed among the victims.

Former FPCCI vice president Asif Sakhi claimed that the Sindh government had distributed Rs4.5 billion in compensation following the tragedy, but said the shop owners had received no share of the funds.

He alleged that the compensation was distributed through the "main accused" in the tragedy and said the matter would have to be taken up at the federal level.

The affected traders reiterated their demand for immediate reconstruction of Gul Plaza and compensation for shop owners, warning that failure to meet their demands would trigger a prolonged sit-in on MA Jinnah Road.