An 11-year-old boy has been named as a defendant in a charge sheet filed by Pakistani police over the deadly fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza mall in January that killed 72 people. The minor, his father and four members of the mall’s management committee will face trial over one of Pakistan’s worst commercial building fires.On January 17, a fire broke out in Gul Plaza, a shopping mall on MA Jinnah Road, Karachi. The fire killed 72 people, injured 8 people, and destroyed 1,153 stores. It took firefighters and rescue teams nearly a week to put out the blaze.According to a charge sheet filed in court on Saturday, the 11-year-old boy named Huzaifa was managing his artificial flower shop in the absence of his father and the fire allegedly broke out while he was playing with matches.District Prosecutor Abdul Razak Gujjar said the boy would be tried along with the other defendants named in the charge sheet.Other defendants include Khuzaffar’s father Naimatullah and Ghor Square Management Committee members Tanveer Pasta, Ammar Ismail, Mohammad Ramazan and Mohammad Amin. All six accused are reportedly absconding since the fire incident.Investigators have compiled a list of 42 prosecution witnesses in the case.According to the charge sheet, one of the key witnesses, a 13-year-old boy named Aryan, told a judicial magistrate that he was in the shop when Huzaifa was playing with matchsticks and a fire broke out.This account was reportedly corroborated by two other witnesses, Mohammad Talha and Hamza Amir, who claimed that Huzafar’s father often allowed his minor son to stay alone in the store and manage its operations.Investigators also cited call data records that showed Naimatula was not in the store at the time of the fire.The chargesheet further accused Gul Plaza management committee members of dereliction of duty, saying they failed to enforce safety regulations or prevent minors from operating shops.Upon investigation, the building lacked adequate fire safety measures. Exit points were locked or blocked, there were insufficient fire extinguishers, a fire hydrant system was not installed and the building lacked emergency backup lighting, the report said.Investigators said the flaws exacerbated the disaster as the building’s power was cut, plunging the building into darkness as the fire spread rapidly.The charge sheet also claims that committee members failed to alert the fire brigade and rescue services in a timely manner. Call data records reportedly showed that no emergency calls were made immediately during the critical early stages of the fire.Juvenile proceedings against Khuzaffar will be conducted in a juvenile court in accordance with Pakistan’s legal provisions regarding minors, authorities said.The remaining defendants were charged under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including negligence in connection with fire or combustible material, manslaughter, causing injury by reckless or negligent conduct, mischief by fire with intent to destroy property and common intention.The chargesheet was filed despite earlier objections from the prosecutor, who directed the investigating officer to incorporate the findings of the judicial commission and the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) set up by the Sindh government. The findings have not yet been incorporated into the case record and are expected to be filed separately, local media reported.(Inputs from PTI)
