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Pakistan suspends top building regulator after deadly collapse in Karachi

Sindh ministers say govt to demolish 51 unsafe buildings in city; claim stricter laws being planned to prevent future tragedies

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Pakistan suspends top building regulator after deadly collapse in Karachi

Sindh Ministers Saeed Ghani (L) and Sharjeel Inam Memon (R) address press conference in Karachi on Monday.

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Authorities in Pakistan’s Sindh province have suspended the director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) following a deadly building collapse in Karachi last week that killed at least 27 people and injured several others.

The provincial government has also ordered the demolition of 51 dangerously dilapidated buildings in the city to prevent similar tragedies.

Additionally, the government announced PKR 1 million as compensation for the families who lost their loved ones in the tragedy.

The incident, which occurred around 10 a.m. on July 4 in Karachi’s impoverished Lyari neighborhood near Lee Market, has triggered public outrage and renewed calls for accountability.

Residents reported hearing cracking sounds just before the apartment block crumbled to the ground.

Once a hotbed of gang violence, Lyari remains one of the city’s most neglected and vulnerable districts.

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In response to mounting criticism, Sindh ministers held a press conference on Monday, where Sindh Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani confirmed the immediate removal of SBCA Director General Ishaq Khoro. The government has appointed Shahmir Khan Bhutto as the new DG, and a formal notification of his appointment has been issued.

Responding to a question about whether the removal was temporary, Ghani clarified: “The DG has been removed, and the new DG will now take charge.”

51 buildings marked for demolition in Karachi

Ghani said that 51 severely unsafe buildings in Karachi have been marked for immediate demolition. The responsibility has been assigned to the Karachi commissioner, who will also lead a broader review of unsafe structures across the city.

According to Ghani, the commissioner will oversee the assessment and categorization of 588 buildings in Karachi already declared unsafe for habitation. “The aim is to identify the most hazardous structures and demolish them promptly while identifying others that may be repairable,” he added.

Ghani said the commissioner has also been tasked with gathering data on how many people live in these buildings, including the number of owners and tenants, so that proper rehabilitation measures can be planned in parallel.

740 unsafe buildings across Sindh

According to government data, 588 of the 740 buildings declared structurally dangerous in Sindh are located in Karachi alone. The SBCA claims that the Lyari building had previously been served with eviction notices, but residents had continued to occupy the premises.

Ghani acknowledged that while notices and warning banners had been issued, that alone does not absolve authorities of responsibility. “Once a building collapses, the authorities also share responsibility for the lives lost,” he said.

  A rescue operation is underway at the site where a residential building collapsed in Karachi on July 4, 2025.  AFP  

He further revealed that the same SBCA DG was in office during a 2022 survey of the collapsed Lyari building. If evidence of criminal negligence emerges, his name will be included in the FIR, Ghani added.

The Sindh government is also considering legislative amendments to SBCA laws to introduce stricter penalties for illegal construction and regulatory violations. “There is an intention to impose harsher punishments for those involved in unlawful building activity,” Ghani noted.

Fact-finding committee to submit report in 2 days

Speaking alongside Ghani at the presser, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon announced the formation of a fact-finding committee to investigate the collapse.

“The committee has been tasked with submitting its report to the chief minister within two days,” Memon said, adding that swift and strict action will be taken based on its findings.

Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.

But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of building regulations.

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