KARACHI: Nine buildings declared unsafe in Lyari have been vacated by the Sindh government, senior provincial minister Sharjeel Memon said on Thursday.
This development came after a multi-storey residential building collapsed in the overcrowded inner-city Lyari district last week, where many working-class and poor families live in ageing apartment blocks.
Memon said that the authorities have also started demolishing one of the dilapidated buildings in Lyari. He also said that three-month rents would be given to the affected families.
The minister said that the new director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) ordered all officers to submit their asset details within 15 days. He also announced that strict action will be taken against those officials who were involved in approving the illegal construction of buildings.
According to Lyari Town’s information department, a committee has been constituted to assess the condition of deteriorating buildings in the Lyari area, following safety concerns and recent structural incidents.
Deputy Commissioner South Javed Nabi Khoso issued an official notification for the formation of the committee. Municipal Commissioner Lyari Hammad N D Khan and Assistant Commissioner Lyari Shehryar Habib have been appointed as the convenor of the committee.
The committee has been tasked with conducting a detailed survey of damaged or potentially dangerous buildings and compiling a list of affected residents.
The body also includes DSP City, Mukhtiarkar Lyari, and the relevant Union Council chairman.
Meanwhile, two key developments were witnessed following the tragic building collapse in Lyari, including the arrest of six SBCA officers in Karachi and the registration of the horrific incident in which 27 people lost their lives.
In a separate development, six SBCA officers have been arrested by the police for questioning, sources told Geo News. They added that the arrested officers include four senior directors, one deputy director and an assistant director.
Moreover, Karachi police registered a case following the Lyari building collapse in which top SBCA officers were nominated.
The First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Baghdadi Police Station on the complaint of a section officer from the Sindh Local Government and Housing Town Planning Departments.
According to the FIR, the building, where a total of 20 flats had been constructed, was in a dilapidated condition for a long time and unfit for residence.
The SBCA officers and staff were aware of the building’s deteriorating condition as early as 2022 but failed to take any action.
Six directors, two deputy directors, and three building inspectors who served in the SBCA between 2022 and 2025 have been named in the case.
The FIR states that the officers demonstrated negligence and did not record the building’s condition in the official documents.
The current owners of the collapsed building were also among the nominated persons in the FIR.
DIG South Asad Raza said the owners had rented out flats in the building despite its poor structural condition.
The case includes charges of negligence, manslaughter, and misuse of official authority. DIG Raza confirmed that all accused, except one director, have been taken into custody, and an investigation is ongoing. –Agencies
