KARACHI: A former office-bearer and shop owner of Gul Plaza on Tuesday testified before a magistrate and alleged that managing committee president Tanveer Pasta might have played a role in the fatal fire at the shopping mall.

Muhammad Arif, 57, who had served as an office-bearer from 2012 to 2014, levelled allegations against the managing committee’s president in his statement recorded under Section 164 of the criminal procedure code before Judicial Magistrate (South) Aasim Aslam.

In his statement, he claimed that two staircases leading to the parking floor had been blocked and highlighted the absence of fire safety equipment in the shopping mall.

He also alleged financial discrepancies in the distribution of government financial assistance to the victims of the Gul Plaza fire.

He informed the court that he had three shops in the Gul Plaza, which were registered in the name of his two sons.

He said the doors of the mall were closed or locked and claimed that rescue services lacked equipment to cut through the window grilles. He added that most lives could have been saved if the authorities concerned had made sincere efforts to rescue those trapped inside.

The former office-bearer urged that all those responsible, including officials of government departments, be brought to justice.

He further informed the court that on the day of the incident, he had received messages in a group about the outbreak of the fire at the mall.

When he reached the site, he found that only two to three fire tenders had initially arrived and that they were short of water.

However, after hours of cross-examination by defence counsel Shaikh Jawaid Mir, the shop owner’s allegations appeared to have weakened when it emerged during the proceedings that the staircases had been closed or blocked since 2003 and that neither he nor any other former office-bearer had taken any steps to have them reopened.

It was also revealed during the cross-examination that the shop owner belonged to an opposition group that had lost the last election to Tanveer Pasta’s panel.

At one point, when he was asked to state when the last election was held, Mr Arif gave a confusing response, saying he did not remember.

The judge warned him that making any false statement on oath before the court would have legal consequences.

He subsequently apologised to the court, saying he could not recall the exact date but that the election had been held in 2024.

He also admitted during cross-examination that he had received Rs500,000 in government assistance through a cheque bearing Mr Pasta’s signature.

He further stated that he was not sure whether the fire had been “pre-planned”.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2026