Karachi: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has termed the Gul Plaza fire incident in Karachi a great tragedy which saddened the entire country. Addressing the Sindh Assembly session, Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the Sindh government is investigating the cause of the fire and how it was handled. He mentioned that a policy is being formulated to prevent such incidents in the future.

According to Radio Pakistan, the Chief Minister informed that 61 bodies have been recovered from the debris so far, while 15 people remain missing. Rescue teams continue their search, and the process of identifications is ongoing through DNA testing.

The Sindh Chief Minister announced the formation of a traders' committee to assess the losses. He stated that two buildings have been identified to provide alternative shops for the affected shop owners. Additionally, he announced that Gul Plaza would be demolished and rebuilt within two years with the same number of shops.

He further stated that each shop owner at Gul Plaza would receive five hundred thousand rupees immediately to help restart their businesses. The Sindh Enterprise Development Fund will provide loans of up to 10 million rupees to each affected shop owner, with the Sindh government acting as guarantor and covering the interest.