BY MUHAMMAD MOHSIN IQBAL
When the flames finally surrendered to smoke, Gul Plaza ceased to be a building and became a wound carved into the body of the city. The air remained thick with the bitter stench of burnt fabric, plastic, and human dreams. Charred walls stood like silent mourners, and beneath the collapsed concrete lay not only the ashes of shops and goods, but the futures of hundreds of families reduced to cinders. The fire was over, yet mourning had only begun.
Across the street, on broken steps dusted with ash, two children sat side by side. They did not cry loudly like the women gathered nearby, nor did they shout slogans or curse fate. Their grief was quieter, heavier, and far more frightening.
“My father used to open his shop early in the morning,” said Ali, his schoolbag lying forgotten beside him. “He said business was like prayer—if you missed the first moment, you lost the blessing of the day.” His eyes remained fixed on the blackened structure. “Yesterday, they told us his body could not be identified. My mother keeps asking how a man can disappear in his own shop.”
Sara lowered her head. “My father sold fabric on the second floor,” she said softly. “He promised to buy me a new uniform from his own earnings very soon. He left home saying he would be late because customers were coming.” Her voice trembled. “He never said goodbye. Now there is no shop, no cloth, no promise. They say many are still missing. Maybe some are alive. Maybe they just don’t know yet.”
Around them, the city moved on awkwardly, burdened by shame and helplessness. Gul Plaza had been more than a commercial building. It was a source of bread, dignity, and survival. With its destruction, stoves in hundreds of houses were extinguished. Kitchens fell silent, school fees became impossible questions, and debts turned into waking nightmares. The fire did not merely consume wood and merchandise; it devoured certainty itself.
Ali clenched his fists. “They say the fire spread because the building was unsafe. No proper exits, no discipline in construction, wires hanging like webs.” His voice carried a quiet anger. “If everyone knew this, why was it allowed to stand? Was it the government’s fault? The administration’s? Or ours, for accepting danger as fate?”
Sara nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks. “My father once complained that the staircases were blocked with goods,” she said. “He laughed while saying it, as if danger was a joke Karachi tells itself every day.” She swallowed hard. “Why did no one stop it? Why do we always wait for death before inspecting buildings?”
Sirens had fallen silent, but grief echoed everywhere. Names were called again and again, dissolving into smoke. Some bodies lay unrecognizable, denying families even the mercy of a final farewell. In many homes, mothers clutched shirts still carrying the scent of their husbands, inhaling memories as if breath itself could bring the dead back. Children listened to whispers filled with unfamiliar words—compensation, inquiry, relief—words that sounded hollow against the permanence of loss.
“My father’s shop fed us,” Ali said quietly. “With that money, my sisters went to school. With that money, our stove burned.” His voice faltered. “Now the stove is cold. My mother asks how we will eat. I have no answer.”
Sara stared at her ash-stained hands. “My father’s business was our future,” she said. “He dreamed of expanding it. He dreamed of my education.” Her shoulders shook. “Now even his body has not been found. How do you bury a dream without a grave?”
Officials moved through the area with notebooks and cameras, promising investigations and committees. Ali watched them with tired eyes. “They will investigate,” he said bitterly. “They always do. But will anyone be punished? Or will this fire also be buried under files and forgotten like the others?”
The questions refused to die. Who is responsible for this tragedy? The permits issued without scrutiny, the inspections never conducted, the rules bent for profit, the warnings ignored—each had played its silent role. Responsibility seemed scattered so widely that no single hand was willing to claim it.
“And what about the families?” Sara whispered. “Who will treat the burned hands of those who tried to save their loved ones? Who will heal the hearts of mothers who waited all night for sons who never returned?” Her voice broke. “Is there any alternative for us, or is grief the only inheritance we have received?”
As evening fell, lamps were lit in nearby homes—not for celebration, but for vigil. Food went untouched. Fathers were absent from dinner mats. Children lay awake, staring into darkness, learning too early that life can change in a single hour. The fire had not only taken lives; it had stripped families of dignity, security, and hope.
Ali stood slowly, lifting his schoolbag. “I am afraid of tomorrow,” he said. “I am afraid that my father’s name will fade, that his death will change nothing.”
Sara rose beside him. “I am afraid too,” she replied. “But maybe our pain should not be silent. Maybe people must remember that Gul Plaza was not an accident—it was a warning written in fire.”
Behind them, the ashes of Gul Plaza lay heavy and accusing. Until responsibility is owned, discipline enforced, and human life valued above profit, the cries of children like Ali and Sara will continue to rise from the ruins—soft, broken, and full of anguish—asking questions that time itself cannot silence.
