Gul Plaza Inferno: Police Charge Sheet Holds Mall Association Primarily Responsible

KARACHI: Police have submitted the charge sheet in the Gul Plaza fire case to a Karachi court, holding the shopping mall’s association primarily responsible for the deadly blaze.

The fire that engulfed Gul Plaza, a popular three-storey shopping centre in Karachi, on January 17 claimed the lives of more than 70 people and exposed serious shortcomings in fire safety arrangements.

The shopping complex housed nearly 1,200 businesses across its basement, mezzanine and three floors. Shops selling wedding clothes, toys, household goods, baby products and other items were destroyed in the fire.

According to the charge sheet, the police investigation found no negligence on the part of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), fire brigade or civil defence authorities.

Police have included 87 witnesses in the case and raised concerns over the fire safety arrangements at Gul Plaza.

The charge sheet identified alleged negligence by the mall administration and highlighted deficiencies in safety arrangements both within individual shops and across the building.

Investigators also obtained CCTV footage and other material evidence, which has been included in the case record.

The forensic report found no explosive material in the items examined during the investigation.

It also found no traces of flammable liquid. However, forensic examination detected particles consistent with material left behind after burning in some of the items.

The findings are being considered as part of the broader investigation into how the fire started and spread through the shopping complex.

The police findings come after a Commission of Inquiry into the fire also raised serious questions about the mall’s management.

According to the judicial commission report issued by the Sindh Home Department, the mall’s de facto management was aware of significant fire safety deficiencies but failed to take corrective measures.

The commission said the shortcomings affected all three major components of fire safety — prevention, detection and firefighting — and concluded that the building lacked an integrated fire safety system.

The report stated that the fire could not simply be considered an unforeseeable incident given the hazardous conditions in which the building was being operated.

The commission found that Gul Plaza was operating without minimum fire safety capacity.

Civil Defence inspection reports from 2024 and 2025 had repeatedly identified the absence of essential firefighting infrastructure, including fire hydrants, hose reels and fire pumps.

The reports also raised concerns over an unreliable and non-functional fire alarm system.

Other deficiencies included a lack of trained fire safety personnel, failure to conduct regular fire drills and the absence of adequate rescue equipment.

The latest police charge sheet and the inquiry commission’s findings have both placed significant responsibility on the management of Gul Plaza, highlighting longstanding safety deficiencies that authorities say contributed to the scale of the tragedy.