A Pakistani court has heard compelling testimony from multiple witnesses establishing the origin of the catastrophic Gul Plaza Shopping Mall fire that devastated the Karachi structure in January. Four prosecution witnesses, including a teenage boy, provided detailed accounts before Judicial Magistrate (South) Aasim Aslam on Monday, all consistently identifying a ground-floor artificial flower shop as the blaze’s epicenter.
The most poignant testimony came from 13-year-old Aryan, son of a neighboring shopkeeper, who described witnessing 11-year-old Huzaifa—son of the flower shop owner—playing with matchsticks moments before the conflagration erupted around 10 PM on January 17. According to his Section 164 CrPC statement, Aryan had visited the shop to meet Huzaifa, finding him alone moments before the sudden outbreak.
Three adult salesmen working within the mall corroborated this account with remarkably consistent details. Waleed, one of the witnesses, recounted being in a nearby shop when shouts alerted him to the emergency. “The fire intensified and the place was filled with smoke,” he described, noting that market committee members had already arrived as he and others attempted unsuccessfully to remove artificial flowers secured with screws before retreating from the advancing flames.
Hamza, 29, provided virtually identical testimony, stating he was occupied with accounting work when he observed flames erupting from Shop No. 193—the artificial flower establishment. His attempts to douse the fire with water proved futile, forcing him to seek escape through mall exits. Similarly, 28-year-old Talha reported conversing with colleagues when the sudden inferno compelled initial firefighting attempts that quickly turned to evacuation as the fire’s intensity became alarmingly apparent.
The January 17 blaze required nearly 48 hours to fully extinguish, reducing the four-story commercial structure to ruins with multiple collapsed sections. In the aftermath, authorities have registered a manslaughter case at Nabi Bux police station against unidentified individuals as investigations continue into one of Karachi’s most devastating urban fires.