Sindh Announces Compensation After Deadly Karachi Mall Fire

Sindh – (Special Correspondent / Web Desk) – The Sindh government on Monday announced financial compensation for families affected by a devastating fire at a large shopping plaza in Karachi, as rescue teams confirmed that more than 20 bodies have now been recovered from the site.

The fire erupted late Saturday at Gul Plaza in Karachi’s busy Saddar commercial area and continued burning until Monday morning. Flames spread quickly across several floors, trapping shoppers and workers inside the crowded building. Earlier in the day, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said at least 15 people had died, including a firefighter, while 65 individuals were still missing as rescue efforts continued. Later, Rescue 1122 officials reported that the death toll had risen beyond 20.

Fires in commercial buildings have become a recurring tragedy in Karachi, a city of over 20 million residents. Overcrowded structures, aging infrastructure, and poor enforcement of fire safety laws have repeatedly led to deadly incidents and major economic losses.

What a powerful and fact-based speech by @A_Qadir_Patel in the @NAofPakistan He strongly condemned the criminal negligence behind the Gul Plaza incident, holding all responsible authorities to account.He questioned Jamaat-e-Islami’s decade-long rule in Karachi, criticized the… pic.twitter.com/cI4DKGI6rk

— Aniqa Jamali (@aniqajamali30) January 20, 2026

Announcing relief measures, Chief Minister Shah said the provincial government would provide Rs10 million ($36,000) to the family of each victim. The blaze has destroyed more than 1,200 shops in one of Karachi’s most important trading centers. He said compensation payments would begin once the required documentation process was completed.

Rescue officials later explained that confirming an exact death toll remains difficult, as some remains were recovered in fragments and need forensic analysis to determine the number of victims. They added that the rescue operation remains extremely risky, with the fire-damaged structure weakened and vulnerable to collapse. Teams are proceeding carefully in stages, following strict safety measures while debris removal and cooling operations continue.

CM Shah announced the formation of a joint committee involving provincial officials and the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to assess losses and oversee rehabilitation of affected traders. He said authorities were exploring temporary arrangements to relocate 1,000 to 1,200 shops so businesses could resume operations as quickly as possible.

Citing past precedents such as the Bolton Market arson and the Cooperative Market fire, Shah said similar compensation and recovery mechanisms had previously helped traders rebuild their livelihoods and would guide the current response.

Karachi has previously suffered devastating commercial fires that prompted large-scale compensation and rehabilitation efforts by both provincial and federal authorities. In 2009, an arson attack at Bolton Market, one of the city’s oldest wholesale trading hubs, destroyed hundreds of shops and disrupted supply chains across Karachi.

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Following appeals from trader bodies, the federal government approved billions of rupees in compensation, while the Sindh government oversaw reconstruction and the rehabilitation of nearly 2,000 affected shopkeepers, a process often cited by officials as a benchmark for post-disaster recovery.

More recently, fires at Cooperative Market and the adjacent Victoria Building in 2021 wiped out clusters of small traders dealing in garments, footwear and household goods. Authorities reused unspent funds from earlier relief schemes to compensate affected businesses, working with trader associations to verify losses and disburse payments. Provincial officials say these past responses shaped the current model of pairing government funding with trader-led assessments to restore livelihoods after large-scale commercial disasters.

KCCI said preliminary assessments showed more than 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses were completely destroyed in the fire, leaving thousands of families without incomes. Traders have urged both provincial and federal authorities to announce a comprehensive rehabilitation package.

Authorities have ordered a formal inquiry into the incident, with Shah stressing that the investigation would focus on identifying systemic failures rather than assigning blame.

He said a fire safety audit covering 145 buildings, conducted in 2024, would now be enforced immediately, alongside mandatory installation of fire alarms in commercial markets across the city.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also offered full federal support, calling for a “coordinated and effective system” to control fires quickly in densely populated urban areas and prevent similar tragedies in the future.

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Battling large fires in Karachi’s congested commercial districts remains notoriously difficult. Many markets and plazas are built with narrow access points, encroachments and illegal extensions that block fire tenders, while buildings often lack functioning fire exits, alarms or sprinkler systems.

Although safety regulations exist, inspections are sporadic and penalties rarely enforced, allowing hazardous wiring and flammable materials to go unchecked – conditions that enable fires to spread rapidly and magnify human and economic losses.