Pakistan – Karachi Shopping Mall Fire Incident

January 20, 2026

Pakistan

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Karachi Shopping Mall Fire Incident

Padmini Arhant

Pakistan’s commercial Capital, Karachi residents experiencing series of preventable incidents resulting in ordinary citizens’ fatalities involving children to youth, women and elderly is a serious lapse on authorities from top to bottom, whose primary responsibility is to provide safe and secure public premises that are well equipped with safe exit passages at the outbreak of fire, besides security measures together with timely and adequate emergency services to mitigate civilian casualties in any life threatening events.

The children tripping into the open manhole on the road and streets in residential area in big cities like Karachi, Lahore…the latest shopping mall, Gul Plaza in Karachi engulfed in fire triggered from an artificial flower (Gul) shop in the mall evolved into an inferno consuming many lives and livelihoods are unfortunate yet avoidable.

The State, national and local municipal authorities’ priorities directed at better development of these facilities and rescue operations would save lives minimizing unnecessary harm to public use of roadways, malls and other common sites in the cities and towns of the State.

Meanwhile, citizens also have their share of responsibility to exercise caution and preparedness to avert potential injury and loss of lives from these mishaps that are now routine in metropolitan like Karachi.

The short circuit addressed with appropriate circuit breakers and fuses together with GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupters) power outlets and AFCi (arc-fault circuit interrupters) at businesses and homes enhance safety.

The shopkeepers and all businesses regardless of merchandise and services including residents at home maintaining proper electrical features, alongside having these life saving emergency items such as fire extinguishers and blankets to instantly put out fire is critical to protect own life, home and business products at all times with municipal ordinance on building code enforcing them mandatory would alleviate citizens’ concerns on future occurrence.

These life saving items are all easily affordable and those unable to buy them, the same could be made available at discounted price via local manufacturing without compromising quality and effectiveness.

The best thing about these items is, they do not require water where water scarcity or the lack thereof is general to deal with the situation when a spark is ignited or at the onset of fire prior to becoming a life threatening uncontrollable fireball as seen in the Karachi Gul Plaza tragedy.

 

Small preventable steps taken could avert massive loss of lives and damages to goods and assets at business and home.

Sincere condolences to families in Karachi grieving over the loss of their loved ones in all these containable accidents and wishes for speedy recovery to victims surviving the major fire breakout.

Padmini Arhant

Written by Padmini Arhant · Filed Under Bulletin, Business, Communications, Corruption, Education, Ethics, Factoid, Featured, FYI, Indian Sub-Continent, Legal, Mind, Security, Social Event, Society, View, World Events 

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