The Judicial Commission constituted to investigate the Gul Plaza incident held its first meeting under the chairmanship of Justice Agha Faisal.
The Commission has invited members of the public to submit any evidence related to the Gul Plaza incident. According to the notice, citizens possessing relevant information are encouraged to contact the Commission via email by February 20.
The Commission aims to gather comprehensive evidence to ensure a transparent and thorough investigation into the incident. The public notice includes the Terms of Reference (TORs) of the Commission, outlining the framework and objectives of the probe.
Four eyewitnesses record statements before Judicial Magistrate
On the other hand, four eyewitnesses had recorded their statements before Judicial Magistrate South Asim Aslam during a court hearing.
The case was heard in the court of Judicial Magistrate South Asim Aslam, where three salesmen and a 13-year-old student submitted their accounts of the incident.
The witnesses included Aryan, Talha, Waheed, and Hamza. The court made its statements part of the official case record before adjourning the hearing.
Thirteen-year-old Aryan told the court that on January 17, he had gone to say goodbye to Huzaifa, who was sitting alone in his father’s shop and playing with matches. According to Aryan, Huzaifa had two boxes of matches at the time.
Aryan said he first visited the shop at 5:00 pm and stayed until 8:30 pm before leaving for his father’s shop, where he played with Samad, who later died in the fire.
Sindh govt constitutes a single-member judicial commission
It is worth mentioning here that the Sindh government had constituted a single-member judicial commission to investigate the cause of the Gul Plaza fire, which claimed at least 73 lives. A notification issued the same day appointed Justice Agha Faisal to head the commission and outlined its terms of reference.
Earlier, the provincial government had announced its decision to approach the SHC chief justice to request a judicial inquiry into the blaze, which took nearly two days to be completely extinguished and destroyed more than 1,100 shops.
Read more: When will financial aid be provided to families of Gul Plaza victims?
