Sindh Information Minister Denies Provincial Government Role in Gul Plaza Construction
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has stated that neither the Sindh government nor the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had any role in the construction or approval of Gul Plaza.
In his statement, Sharjeel Memon said that the building was approved in 1983 during the tenure of then Mayor Abdul Sattar Afghani, while the lease was renewed in 1991 under Mayor Dr Farooq Sattar. He added that all irregularities related to the building were regularized in 2003 during the tenure of Mayor Naimatullah Khan.
The provincial information minister emphasized that all decisions regarding the building were taken by municipal authorities before the 18th Constitutional Amendment, adding that giving the issue a political color amounts to distorting facts.
It is pertinent to note that so far 71 bodies and human remains have been recovered from the Gul Plaza tragedy in Karachi. Police Surgeon Karachi Dr Samia Tariq said that the identification process of 16 victims has been completed, while DNA identification has become complicated due to the bodies being badly burnt.
