KARACHI: In most years, the weeks before Eid Al-Fitr bring a surge of shoppers to Karachi’s markets, as families buy clothes, shoes and gifts for the holiday. This year, for hundreds of traders displaced by a deadly mall fire, the season has passed without business and without recovery.
In January, a massive blaze tore through Gul Plaza, a densely packed commercial building in Karachi’s Saddar area, killing over 70
people and destroying more than 1,200 shops.
Traders say the fire wiped out inventory worth billions of rupees, much of it stocked in advance for the peak Eid shopping period.
A subsequent inquiry by Sindh authorities found the fire was triggered inside a shop selling artificial flowers, where a child reportedly lit a match that ignited flammable material, causing flames to spread rapidly through the building. The investigation also highlighted serious safety lapses that turned the blaze into a mass-casualty incident, including blocked or locked exits, a lack of fire-fighting equipment and years of ignored warnings about building violations.
