KARACHI: The Sindh government on Wednesday formed a single-member judicial commission to probe the cause of the Gul Plaza blaze that claimed at least 73 lives.
The notification appointing Justice Agha Faisal and listing the commission’s terms of reference came hours after Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput nominated the judge for the task.
It should be mentioned that the Sindh government had announced it would approach the SHC chief justice for a judicial inquiry into the fire, which took nearly two days to be fully extinguished and left over 1,100 shops in ruins.
Earlier in the day, a letter from the SHC registrar to the Sindh Home Department’s secretary, available with media, stated that the chief justice had nominated Justice Faisal as the single-member commission to “probe the causes of the fire incident of Gul Plaza shopping centre, Karachi for a period to be fixed and notified by the government of Sindh”.
It stated that the decision was made keeping in view the provisions of Section 3 of the Sindh Tribunals of Inquiry Ordinance, 1969 and considering the Sindh government’s request, along with the terms of reference (ToR) which had been sought on January 30.
Subsequently, the Sindh Home Department issued a notification stating that Justice Faisal was officially appointed to probe the Gul Plaza incident as a single-member commission of inquiry.
The notification — seen by media — also outlined the commission’s terms of reference.
According to the guidelines outlined, Justice Faisal was tasked with examining if building approvals and lease extensions from the Sindh Building Control Authority, its predecessor organisations and the Karachi Municipal Corporation were granted in accordance with the applicable laws, rules and regulations.
The SHC was also expected to “assess if the construction of Gul Plaza was in violation of the approved building plan, leading to difficulty in evacuation of people”, the notification said.
Further, the commission would also have to probe whether arrangements at the building for fire detection, prevention and firefighting would also be assessed, to determine whether building management ensured them, as required under applicable laws and safety regulations.
He would also assess if building management or any government department had carried out fire safety audits, and whether the recommendations were implemented.
Further, he would have to ascertain “the causes and circumstances leading to the fire incident at Gul Plaza Shopping Centre” and “examine and evaluate rescue operations for adequacy and swiftness”.
The commission was also mandated to “fix responsibility for any acts of commission or omission committed prior to and subsequent to the incident”.
The notification added that Justice Faisal would submit his findings within eight weeks, directing the Karachi Commissioner’s office to provide him with secretariat support.
The SHC on Friday had already turned down Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori’s request to constitute a judicial commission to probe the inferno, citing non-compliance with the relevant law and case law “in letter and spirit”.
On January 29, the Sindh government wrote to Justice Rajput, requesting him to nominate a sitting judge to lead an inquiry to ascertain responsibility and examine any failures in regulatory oversight linked to the Gul Plaza incident.
The Chief Minister’s House also urged the SHC registrar to process the request promptly, stating that “an early response is solicited”.
The move came after a cabinet subcommittee of the PPP-led Sindh government reviewed a report submitted by a two-member team. They discussed the circumstances surrounding the fire incident at Gul Plaza and agreed that an independent judicial probe was necessary.
Though the decision followed Sindh’s major opposition parties’ unanimous rejection of the preliminary findings, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon refuted that it was due to “pressure” from the political opponents.
After conducting its own probe, the Sindh government had said multiple officials were suspended and some would face departmental action.
These included the chief engineer (bulk) and the hydrants’ incharge of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC); Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) Municipal Commissioner Afzal Zaidi and its municipal service senior director; and the Civil Defence director and its South district additional controller.
Memon had particularly noted that there was a “delay in the supply of water to the fire tenders”, affecting the operations of KMC’s fire brigade and Rescue 1122.
In a first information report (FIR) of the incident, dated January 23, the Karachi police said the fire was an “outcome of negligence and carelessness”.
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