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11-year-old charged over deadly Gul Plaza fire in Karachi, local media says
The investigation uncovered serious fire safety shortcomings, including locked or blocked emergency exits and an insufficient number of fire extinguishers
- PUBLISHED: Sun 5 Jul 2026, 5:40 PM
An 11-year-old boy will be tried in a juvenile court over the deadly fire at Gul Plaza Shopping Centre on January 17, which killed 72 people, injured eight others, and destroyed more than 1,100 shops, according to Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
According to the police charge sheet, the boy, Huzaifa, was allegedly playing with matchsticks inside his father's shop when the fire started. Investigators say witness statements from other children and eyewitnesses support this account.
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Police have also charged the boy's father and four members of the Gul Plaza Management Committee, according to Dawn.
Investigators allege the father left the shop in the care of his underage son, while the management committee failed to enforce safety rules or stop the child from operating the shop alone.
The investigation also found serious fire safety failures at the building.
According to the charge sheet, emergency exits were locked or blocked; there were too few fire extinguishers, no fire hydrant system, and no emergency backup lighting, as electricity was disconnected after the fire broke out and engulfed the building.
Investigators also alleged that management committee members failed to promptly contact the fire brigade or rescue services.
Because the boy is 11 years old, his case will be heard in a juvenile court, which handles cases involving minors rather than adult criminal courts.
The blaze raged for nearly two days, reducing Gul Plaza, a multi-storey complex housing around 1,200 family-run shops selling children's clothing, toys, crockery and household goods, to charred ruins.
The aftermath revealed the scale of the devastation, with entire sections of the building left blackened and destroyed.
