Indus Vitals

A preventable tragedy underscores how weak enforcement, fragmented accountability and routine neglect have turned Karachi’s fire safety laws into paper promises — with deadly consequences. Top of Form The devastating blaze at Gul Plaza on MA Jinnah Road — which reportedly claimed more than 70 lives and gutted a commercial complex housing over 1,200 shops — has once again exposed a grim reality of urban governance in Karachi. Fire safety regulations may exist in policy documents and building codes, but for much of the city they remain little more than words on paper. Each major fire in Karachi tends to follow a familiar cycle: shock, grief, public anger, promises of inquiries, and eventually a slow return to normality. What rarely follows is sustained reform. The tragedy at Gul Plaza, however, should compel authorities and stakeholders to confront a difficult truth: Karachi’s fire safety crisis is not the result of missing laws, but of weak enforcement and fragmented accountab...

CM seeks swift verification as compensation crosses 900 beneficiaries IV Report KARACHI: Sindh government in addition to providing financial compensations to victim shopkeepers of the tragic huge fire incident at Gul Plaza, Karachi, or their families, is preparing rebuilding the blaze-gutted commercial complex housing over 1200 small or big shops, it emerged on April 1. The development came as Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah chaired a high-level meeting at the CM House to review the pace of compensation disbursement and outline steps for reconstruction of the market, which was devastated by a massive fire on January 19. Officials briefed the meeting that the provincial government had earmarked Rs850 million for families of those who lost their lives in the incident, fixing compensation at Rs10 million per deceased. Out of 72 reported fatalities, cheques have so far been delivered to 61 families at their residences by provincial ministers, while the remaining cases are at var...

Regulator cites weak oversight, unsafe practices and TTI risks; vows tighter enforcement and improved screening KARACHI: Unregistered or informal blood collection activities pose a significant risk to transfusion safety in Sindh due to the absence of standardised screening, licensing and regulatory oversight, the Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority (SBTA) has said, highlighting continuing challenges in bringing such operators under formal regulation. In response to queries regarding blood safety and transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs), the authority’s Secretary, Dr Dur-e Naz Jamal, stated that informal collectors increase the likelihood of unsafe transfusions and heightened transmission risks, as they operate outside established quality-control systems. She acknowledged that regulating independent or informal collectors remains complex. Among the key challenges are difficulty in identifying unregistered operators, limited enforcement resources, legal constraints, and public...

SBTA data shows 5.7pc of blood donations in 2025 detected reactive for at least one infection By Mukhtar Alam KARACHI: Thousands of donated blood units in Sindh were discarded in 2025 after screening detected transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs), highlighting continuing public health challenges and gaps in safe donor recruitment, this emerged lately. Data compiled from four regional blood centres (RBCs) and blood banks registered with the Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority (SBTA) show that 47,375 blood units were rejected after testing positive for infections such as HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis and malaria. The figures indicate that 5.7 per cent of the 833,050 blood donations screened during the year were found reactive for at least one infection, meaning roughly one in every 20 donated blood units could not be used for transfusion. According to SBTA records, 209 licensed blood banks across Sindh collectively received 932,966 donors in 2025 -- 920,585 ma...

Doctors and religious scholars stress informed decision-making, warn against health risks of unsupervised fasting KARACHI: As Ramadan approaches, religious scholars and diabetes specialists have warned that fasting without proper guidance can pose serious health risks for patients with diabetes. They stressed that those medically advised not to fast should not feel guilty, as Islamic teachings provide exemptions for those whose health may be harmed. The caution came during the “Diabetes and Ramadan Patient Awareness Program” organised by the National Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology (NIDE) at Dow University of Health Sciences’ Ojha Campus. The event was chaired by NIDE Director Dr Musarrat Riaz and attended by numerous diabetic patients along with their family members. Speaking at the seminar, Dr Musarrat Riaz said the programme aimed to provide “accurate, scientific, and practical guidance” to diabetic patients regarding fasting. She highlighted the need for collaboratio...

Focus shifts to enforcement, preparedness, and reform pathways By Mukhtar Alam KARACHI: Having outlined where fire safety frameworks repeatedly falter, stakeholders are now focusing on enforcement discipline, preparedness planning, and pathways for systemic reform. The consensus emerging from interviews suggests that technical solutions exist, but their impact hinges on regulatory continuity, institutional coordination, and governance integrity. Practical measures Zahid Farooq, Joint Director, Urban Resource Centre (URC), places the city’s fire safety crisis within the broader context of resource constraints and governance neglect, noting that fire safety is neither prioritised nor consistently discussed within city administration. He echoes the view that compensation cannot replace accountability, describing it as a temporary relief measure that may win public sympathy but does not absolve authorities of responsibility. Zahid Farooq Farooq advocates practical, citizen-orie...