Karachi — Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has suspended the Director General of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) following the deadly collapse of a five-storey building in Karachi’s Lyari area, which has claimed at least 27 lives. The structure, located on Fida Husain Shaikha Road near Lea Market, had long been declared unsafe.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday alongside Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar and Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani, Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon confirmed that the chief minister had taken serious notice of the tragedy.
“Today, the chief minister has also suspended the DG SBCA and has ordered the home minister to immediately register an FIR (first information report) on the incident and that strictest action be taken against all those involved,” Memon said.
He emphasized that the entire province mourns the loss, adding:
“The entire province, nation, and all of us as government representatives are saddened and equally share the grief of the bereaved families.”
The SBCA had reportedly declared the building uninhabitable and issued multiple evacuation notices since 2023, but residents had continued living there. In a recent assessment, the SBCA disclosed that 588 buildings across Karachi have been declared dangerous, including 107 in Lyari alone.
In response to growing concerns, Saeed Ghani announced the formation of an investigative committee tasked not only with probing the incident but also with conducting assessments of 51 other severely dilapidated buildings across the city.
“The committee has been directed to include these 51 risky buildings in its assessment to prevent future tragedies,” Ghani said.
The Sindh government has vowed that accountability will follow at all levels, and that preventive steps will be taken to ensure such urban disasters are not repeated.
