RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed on Saturday the sanctioning of death sentences for 11 hardcore terrorists, according to a statement from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The terrorists were involved in “heinous offenses related to terrorism, including attacks on law enforcement agencies and armed forces of Pakistan, Malakand University, and the killing of innocent civilians including Imran Khan Mohmind, a member of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly,” reads the statement.
According to the military media wing, the convicts, tried by special military courts, were responsible for killing 62 people, including five citizens, 11 police officials and 46 Frontier Constabulary/armed forces personnel.
In April this year, General Bajwa sanctioned death sentences for 10 terrorists, including those responsible for the murder of qawwali singer Amjad Sabri and an attack on Pearl Continental Hotel, Peshawar. Sabri was shot dead in broad daylight in Karachi’s Liaquatabad area on June 22, 2016.
Arms and explosives were also recovered from their possession.
Army chief sanctions death sentences for 11 terrorists
Army chief sanctions death sentences for 11 terrorists
- The terrorists include qawwali singer Amjad Sabri’s killers
- Arms and explosives were also recovered from their possession
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
