Pakistan’s fire safety failures exposed as hundreds of Karachi buildings remain unsafe

Serious shortcomings in Pakistan’s fire safety enforcement have raised concerns over public safety in Sindh, where hundreds of buildings remain vulnerable to fire hazards amid delayed inspections and inadequate preventive measures, as reported by Dawn. According to Dawn, Karachi has emerged as Sindh’s most vulnerable division, with 162 buildings failing to meet mandatory fire safety standards. Data from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reveals that only 292 of the city's 907 identified buildings have undergone second-phase inspections, leaving 615 awaiting reassessment. District South recorded 57 non-compliant buildings, followed by Central with 45, Korangi with 23, East with 15, West with 11, Malir with seven and Keamari with four. The situation extends across Sindh, where 2,216 of 3,486 identified buildings remain awaiting reinspection. Among 1,270 reassessed structures, 61 were classified as non-compliant, 457 partially compliant and 752 substantially compliant. P...