The deadly inferno at Karachi’s Gul Plaza, which claimed at least 27 lives with 81 people are reportedly missing, echoed in the National Assembly as Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Muttahida Qaumi Movement–Pakistan lawmakers called for an empowered local government system to prevent such incidents. Addressing the National Assembly on Tuesday, the defence minister said that the lack of fire-extinguishing systems demands the need for every province to have a mechanism where people can address issues at the local level. Farooq Sattar urges declaring incident ‘national tragedy’; Shehla Raza says not appropriate time to “drag” 18th Amendment.
