ISLAMABAD: The Sindh cabinet on Tuesday approved a major relief and rehabilitation package for victims of the Gul Plaza fire, one of Karachi’s deadliest blazes, which killed more than 70 people and took three days to bring under control earlier this month.

The decision comes weeks after the fire ripped through the multi-story commercial building in the city’s Saddar area, trapping workers and traders as flames spread rapidly through the structure, exposing severe gaps in fire safety enforcement and emergency response.

Under the cabinet-approved package, families of those who died will receive Rs10 million ($35,800) each in compensation, while affected shopkeepers will be provided interest-free loans of Rs10 million per unit, with the provincial government bearing the cost of interest.

An additional Rs500,000 ($1,790) per shopkeeper has been approved as immediate subsistence support.

“There can be no compromise on human life,” Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said during the cabinet meeting, adding that the government’s priority was to support affected families while ensuring accountability.

“Relief, justice and prevention must go hand in hand,” he added.

The cabinet also constituted a high-level subcommittee, headed by the chief minister, to review the findings of an inquiry committee tasked with determining responsibility for the incident and recommending further action.

Fires have become an increasingly frequent occurrence in Karachi, a megacity of more than 20 million people, where fire services remain severely overstretched and under-resourced relative to population density and the scale of commercial activity.

Successive deadly incidents have drawn criticism of the Sindh administration over lax enforcement of building codes, inadequate inspections and limited emergency response capacity.