Addressing a press conference, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said the high court would be requested to appoint a serving judge to review and decide the matter.
The minister was flanked by Karachi police chief Azad Khan and Commissioner Hassan Naqvi.
Briefing the media on the incident, Memon said that initial findings had ruled out arson. “No one set the fire. The fire started because of an 11-year-old child,” he added.
Memon said that following the Gul Plaza incident, a special cabinet meeting was convened during which a sub-committee was formed. He added that the chief minister had also constituted a separate fact-finding committee, whose report was now received.
“Today, important decisions have been taken by the chief minister in light of the committee’s report,” he said.
Providing further details, the minister said that between 2,000 and 2,500 people were present in Gul Plaza at the time the fire broke out. While many were able to escape after the incident began, 80 people lost their lives.
He said that a review of the cabinet sub-committee’s report revealed that the Civil Defence Department had conducted several fire audits of the building since 2023 but failed to take any subsequent action. He added that the district administration did not inform the government about this lapse.
“Gul Plaza management had been issued notices twice, and two safety audits had been conducted, during which they were informed that adequate safety arrangements were not in place,” he said.
He said it was observed that the Civil Defence Department had conducted fire safety audits of Gul Plaza and other buildings since 2023, but “no effective or lawful steps were taken to prevent this incident.”
He added that the director of Civil Defence and the additional controller of Civil Defence, District South Karachi, “neither informed the authorities nor took any action against the violators.”
“As a result, the director and director general of civil defence have been suspended with immediate effect,” Memon said, adding that if anyone else was found to be involved, they too would be punished.
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More to follow.