ISLAMABAD: Pakistani anti-corruption authorities ordered one of the leaders of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party to be confined to her residence on Friday as they continued an anti-graft crackdown that critics say is aimed at stifling dissent.
The National Accountability Board (NAB) ordered Faryal Talpur, sister of former President Asif Ali Zardari, to be confined to her residence in Islamabad in connection with a case of suspected money laundering through fake bank accounts.
A NAB spokesman said Faryal Talpur had been ordered to remain in her house. He said she would be attended by female police officers and her treatment should not be described as an arrest.
The move follows the arrest earlier this week of Zardari, widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a 2007 suicide attack and whose father, PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, also served as president and prime minister.
The government has denied any role in the arrest of Zardari and says that NAB operates independently. But the crackdown has prompted an angry response from PPP officials, including Zardari’s son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
“We will have to go out into the streets and show people how their rights are being taken away,” Bhutto Zardari told a hastily called news conference. “We can see in these days that the rule of law is not being applied.”
As well as Zardari, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is also in jail on corruption charges.
Sister of former Pakistani president ordered held in graft probe
Sister of former Pakistani president ordered held in graft probe
- Zardari’s female sibling Faryal Talpur has been ordered to remain in her house
- NAB spokesman says her treatment should not be described as an arrest
Sindh regulator gives Karachi builders three days to fix fire risks after mall inferno
- Sindh Building Control Authority issues the warning after Gul Plaza fire death toll rises to 28
- The building regulator partially closes an adjacent mall after damage caused by falling debris
KARACHI: Sindh’s building regulator on Tuesday gave owners and builders three days to address fire safety deficiencies in commercial and residential buildings, after a devastating blaze at a multistory shopping plaza in Karachi killed at least 28 people, with dozens still unaccounted for.
The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) issued the ultimatum in a letter to the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD), a leading body representing construction firms, citing fire safety audit reports by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and warning that failure to comply would trigger legal action under provincial building laws.
The move comes as rescue teams continue to search the wreckage of Gul Plaza, where a fire broke out late on Saturday and burned for more than 24 hours before being brought under control.
Large sections of the building collapsed during the blaze, complicating rescue efforts and forcing authorities to deploy heavy machinery to clear debris. Officials say dozens of people, mostly shop owners and customers, remain missing.
“Since SBCA will not be able to achieve the desired objectives [of strengthening fire protection mechanisms] without the cooperation of your members in this matter, you are therefore requested to direct your members to immediately comply with the fire safety deficiencies highlighted in the audit reports within three (03) days, as this is an urgent matter requiring immediate compliance,” the authority said in the letter shared by Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on social media.
Rescuers recovered five more bodies on Tuesday, taking the confirmed death toll to 28, while DNA testing is being used to identify victims burned beyond recognition, police and medical officials said.
The SBCA has also issued a separate notice declaring Rimpa Plaza, another commercial building in the city’s District South, unsafe after damage caused by falling debris during the Gul Plaza fire. Authorities ordered its partial closure until repairs and structural strengthening are carried out under expert supervision.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and commercial hub, has a long history of deadly fires, often blamed on poor safety standards, illegal construction and weak enforcement.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people, while one of the country’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a blaze at a garment factory killed at least 260 workers.
Provincial officials say inspections and enforcement will be stepped up in the coming days, but safety advocates argue lasting change will depend on sustained oversight and accountability beyond emergency directives.
