KARACHI: At least 11 people were killed and several others sustained burn injuries as a fire engulfed a shopping mall in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, known for its fragile firefighting system and poor safety controls, officials and rescue members said on Saturday.
The fire erupted in the RJ Shopping Mall building at around 6 in the morning and was finally extinguished after hours of efforts involving eight fire tenders, two snorkels and a water bowser, according to a Fire Department spokesperson.
The cooling process had commenced and a search was ongoing for any survivors trapped inside the building on the city’s Rashid Minhas Road.
“Eleven people have died and six others are in critical condition due to smoke and fire in RJ Shopping Mall,” Shahid Hussain, a spokesperson for the Chhipa Welfare Organization that runs a rescue service in the city, told Arab News.
Shabbir Ali Babar, a spokesperson for the Sindh provincial health department, confirmed the number of casualties and said the bodies were shifted to Jinnah and Civil hospitals in the city.
Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Maqbool Baqar has directed the local administration to rescue people and provide immediate treatment to the injured.
“Protection of people’s lives is the responsibility of the government,” a statement from his office said.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and the main commercial hub, is home to hundreds of thousands of industrial units and some of the tallest buildings in the South Asian country.
But despite its magnitude, the city has only 22 fire stations, a little over a dozen functional fire tenders, few snorkels, and slightly more than a thousand firefighters — woefully inadequate for a megapolis that witnesses hundreds of fire incidents annually.
In April, four firefighters died and nearly a dozen others were injured after a fire broke out in a garment factory, while 10 people were killed in a massive fire at a chemical factory in the city in August 2021.
In the deadliest such incident, 260 people were killed in 2012 after being trapped inside a garment factory when a fire broke out.
At least 11 people killed in shopping mall fire in Pakistan’s Karachi
https://arab.news/m89us
At least 11 people killed in shopping mall fire in Pakistan’s Karachi
- Six injured persons are said to be in critical condition after firefighters douse the blaze, begin cooling process
- The southern Pakistani city, known for poor fire safety protocols, has witnessed such incidents in past as well
Pakistan raises India's suspension of water-sharing treaty with UNGA president, seeks action
- New Delhi said in April last year it was holding the treaty in abeyance after a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
- Official says such actions threaten lives of 240 million Pakistanis, particularly at a time of climate stress, water scarcity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has taken up India’s suspension of a decades-old water-sharing treaty with the president of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), urging action over the move that Islamabad said sets "dangerous precedents."
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) divides control of the Indus basin rivers between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. India said in April last year it would hold the treaty “in abeyance” after a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed more than 26 tourists. New Delhi blamed the assault on Pakistan, Islamabad denied it.
The attack led to a four-day military conflict between the neighbors last May that say them attack each other with fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery before the United States-brokered a ceasefire. Tensions have remained high between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
During a meeting on the sidelines of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) annual hearing, Pakistan Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani told UNGA President Annalena Baerbock that India's unlawful action constituted a blatant violation of the treaty’s provisions and principles of customary international law.
"Such actions threaten the lives and livelihoods of over 240 million Pakistanis and set dangerous precedents, particularly at a time when climate stress and water scarcity demand cooperation and strict respect for international agreements," he was quoted as saying by the Pakistani information ministry.
The treaty, mediated by the World Bank, grants Pakistan rights to the Indus basin’s western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — for irrigation, drinking, and non-consumptive uses like hydropower, while India controls the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — for unrestricted use but must not significantly alter their flow.
Highlighting the adverse impacts of climate change, Gilani said countries like Pakistan remain among the most severely affected and underscored the urgency of collective action, climate justice and strengthened international cooperation.
"The United Nations provides an indispensable platform for addressing these interconnected challenges," he said at the meeting.
Gilani, who was leading a six-member parliamentary delegation, this week delivered the national statement at the IPU annual hearing at the UN headquarters, calling for democratic, transparent, and accountable decision-making in order to enhance the UN’s credibility, according to the Senate of Pakistan.
“Parliaments are indispensable partners in ensuring national ownership of international commitments,” he was quoted as saying by the Senate. “Reform is essential. But it must be ‘Reform for All, Privilege for None’.”
The Senate chairman highlighted the continuing importance of the United Nations as the cornerstone of multilateral cooperation, stressing that the organization’s universal membership and Charter-based mandate remain central to promoting global peace and security.
