The Sindh Prime Minister Murad Ali Shah suspended the Director General of the Control and Control Authority of Sindh about the recent collapse of the building in Karachi who charged 27 lives, a minister said on Monday.
The five -story building in Fida Husain Shaikha Road in Lea Market collapsed on Friday morning, with rescue operations concluding yesterday. The building had already been declared uninhabitable by the authorities due to its ruin structure, and the SBCA said it had issued multiple notices prior to residents to vacate the structure since 2023.
“Today, the main minister also suspended the DG SCBA and ordered the Interior Minister to immediately register a FIR (first information report) about the incident and take strict measures against all those involved,” said Sindh Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon.
He was heading to a press conference in Karachi together with the Interior Minister of Sindh, Ziaul Hasan Lanjar, and the local government minister, Saeed Ghani.
According to Ghani, other officials who were suspended include the deputy director and the construction inspectors of the SBCA. He also pointed out that the Sindh government has announced RS1 million in compensation to the families of the 27 dead people.
The main opposition parties, the PTI, the Muttahida Qaumi-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Jamaat-I-Islami movement have condemned the PPP Sindh government, the SBCA and other authorities, accusing them of “criminal negligence.”
Not only did they demand compensation and alternative residences for affected families, but also requested the registration of involuntary homicide cases against the officials responsible for the tragedy.
Observing the loss of 27 lives, Memon said: “The entire province, the nation and all of us as government representatives are sad and also share the pain of the afflicted families.”
“The prime minister has taken a very strict warning of this,” he said.
Memon said that the warning of CM Muad about the incident aimed to guarantee strict action “against those who did not fulfill their duties or even if they fulfilled, they could not implement them.”
He added that the Research Committee formed in the incident, which received three days to submit a report, would present its report within two days due to the holidays of Ashura during the weekend. The committee will also include the Karachi commissioner, he added.
Ghani said that all SBCA officers since 2022 will be identified and included in the investigation, adding: “If the committee finds criminal negligence of any employee, they will be included in the FIR and the legal action.”
“The Karachi commissioner must also provide evaluations of the 588 buildings that declared themselves dangerous in two weeks so that we can decide which of the buildings must be destroyed and which can be fixed through an important repair,” he added.
In a recent statement, the SBCA said that 588 buildings have been declared dangerous throughout Karachi, with 107 of these buildings only in Lyari.
More to follow
