Sealed Gul Plaza fire inquiry report submitted to Sindh government

KARACHI: The judicial commission formed to investigate the Jan 17 fire at Gul Plaza has handed its sealed report to the Sindh government.

Justice Agha Faisal of the Sindh High Court, who headed the Gul Plaza Judicial Commission, formally gave the inquiry report to Sindh Law Secretary Ali Ahmed Baloch on Tuesday. The law secretary appeared before the commission to receive the document.

The commission had wrapped up its proceedings last week and informed the law secretary that the inquiry had been completed. The body was tasked with examining the circumstances surrounding the blaze at Gul Plaza Shopping Centre under the terms of reference laid down in the official notification.

Speaking about the next step, the law secretary said he would forward the report to the Sindh chief secretary. He also said it was for the provincial government to decide whether the findings would be made public.

The report is expected to be placed before the Sindh cabinet, which will decide whether or not to release it to the public.

The judicial commission was set up under Section 3 of the Sindh Tribunals of Inquiry Ordinance, 1969, through a gazette notification issued on Feb 10. It was assigned to scrutinise the devastating fire at Gul Plaza Shopping Centre in line with the terms of reference contained in that notification.

The period fixed for completion of the inquiry was eight weeks. Last week, the commission concluded its probe before submitting the sealed report to the provincial authorities.

According to the police surgeon, 73 people died in the fire, which broke out on the night of Jan 17. The blaze took nearly two days to be fully extinguished.

The fire left the ground-plus-three-storey Gul Plaza building in ruins, with parts of the structure collapsing.

The submission of the report marks the latest development in the official inquiry into one of Karachi’s deadliest recent fires. For now, the contents of the report remain undisclosed, and the decision on whether it will enter the public domain rests with the Sindh government.