Karachi | Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday offered Pakistan’s deep-sea ports at Gwadar and Karachi as a vital trade outlet for Central Asian states, saying that this could change the fate of the entire region.

KARACHI: The son of slain Lyari gangster Abdul Rehman alias Rehman Dakait was arrested in Karachi, police said on Monday. “Kalakot police have apprehended Jibran s/o Abdul Rehman alias Rehman Dakait and recovered one illegal pistol from his custody,” a statement by police said. The statement added that the suspect held was a “habitual criminal” who had been arrested and sent to prison in several cases in the past. There were two First Information Reports (FIRs) against him registered at Lyari’s Kalakot police station between the years 2023 and 2024. Rehman Dakait was killed in 2009 by Karachi police, along with three of his accomplices. He was reportedly involved in more than 80 criminal cases and was a central figure in the gang wars of Lyari — one of the most populous and oldest localities of Karachi. In 2024, another one of his sons was shot dead in an alleged encounter in Karachi. According to the police, he was organising a gang of criminals in Lyari. Police also said he was previously involved in drug t...

A local PPP activist was gunned down in Karachi’s Pak Colony area late on Friday night, police said on Saturday. South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the shooting occurred at Qaim Khani Clinic, located near Warisi Mosque in Hasrat Mohani Colony, within the jurisdiction of Pak Colony Police Station. “Political and social figure Abdul Rasheed Qureshi was present at the clinic where he was receiving medical treatment and was receiving an intravenous (IV) drip due to ill health,” DIG Raza said. “During this time, unknown assailants, for reasons yet to be determined, opened fire, as a result of which Qureshi died on the spot,” he said. The DIG added that Qureshi was immediately moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. “Upon receiving information about the incident, the Pak Colony station house officer (SHO), along with a heavy contingent of police, reached the scene,” the DIG said. “Police are investigating the incident from various angles,” he sa...

KARACHI: Rash and negligent driving claimed the lives of four people in two separate incidents in Karachi early on Friday morning, police said. A total of 803 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in Karachi in 2025. The Karachi traffic police, however, maintains that the situation began to improve during the latter half of the year. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that one accident occurred at 1:05am on Friday morning. According to him, a couple and a child were on a motorcycle when a trailer hit them at the Native Jetty Bridge. They sustained critical injuries and were transported to Civil Hospital Karachi, where doctors pronounced them dead. The victims’ identity could not be immediately ascertained. “The errant driver managed to escape from the spot along with the heavy vehicle,” Raza said. In another fatal accident, a man was killed in Baldia Town. The DIG said the man was on a motorcycle when a loaded dump truck hit him at Baldia-4. He suffered critical injuries and ...

KARACHI: A seven-year-old boy was killed on Wednesday when a truck ran him over in Korangi’s Mehran Town area. According to a statement by the traffic police, the truck driver was reversing the vehicle when he ran over the boy. The statement said the boy died on the spot while the driver fled the scene along with the heavy vehicle. It added that the driver was a resident of the same area and had intially parked the truck outside his home. The statement said that “carelessly driving the vehicle”, the driver killed the son of his neighbour. The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for legal formalities. In December, the Sindh government banned the daytime movement of heavy traffic vehicles in Karachi for two months as the city had witnessed a steep increase in traffic accidents, with many resulting from collisions with heavy vehicles such as dumper trucks and water tankers. Earlier this month, in an effort to keep slow-moving freight vehicles from mingling with faster passenger traffic, th...

KARACHI: Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon on Wednesday expressed hope that the main corridor of the Red Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Karachi’s University Road would be completed by March. “Our effort is to complete the main corridor on University Road — where there is heavy public movement and where citizens face difficulties — by March,” said the senior minister while speaking to the media in the metropolis. “The remaining BRT work will continue, including bridges, underpasses, and U-turns,” he added. He further said the condition of the main thoroughfare and its adjoining routes is now “far better than before”. “Wherever the roads appear damaged, it is only because development work is currently under way,” he added. Referring to the lack of construction activity, he maintained that the provincial government was not at fault, as there were “some serious issues at the national level”, adding that with an increase in the exchange rate, the project’s cost ballooned. He added that the Sindh Transport Depa...

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar on Tuesday urged PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to seek resignations from the Sindh chief minister and the Karachi mayor. A war of words has been ongoing between MQM-P and PPP leaders in the wake of the Gul Plaza inferno, with lawmakers associated with the former party demanding that Karachi be handed over to the Centre. Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Sattar termed Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Senior Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab — who he said were close to Bilawal — as his “three naive friends”. “What if a drop scene happens? They are making you sink in a swamp. So we, Karachi’s people, those living in Sindh’s cities, are demanding from you that all three resign,” Sattar said, referring to CM Murad, Memon and Wahab. He remarked that the three leaders had added an enormous “burden” to the PPP’s “ship that could sink it”. “Reduce this burden,” he said, urging Bilawal to demand the r...

Jamaat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Tuesday stressed the formation of a “city government” as the only solution to Karachi’s administrative and governance issues. The remarks come against the backdrop of the Gul Plaza inferno, which has resulted in lawmakers stressing the need to empower local governments (LGs) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) even demanding that Karachi be made a “federal territory”. “The solution to Karachi’s issues is not provincial or federal control. According to the Constitution, the solution is Karachi city government,” the JI chief said while addressing a press conference in the metropolis. Rehman made the case for better local governance by citing Istanbul as an example: “Istanbul’s local governance has its master plan, fire brigade, construction, transportation, water, sewage, education and employment under its jurisdiction.” “This is real governance, not KDA (Karachi Development Authority) or SBCA (Sindh Building Control Authority),” he said, adding that “...

KARACHI: The Karachi police on Monday constituted a special team to make “all-out efforts” to arrest suspects in the Gul Plaza fire and to conduct an impartial probe into the incident. An order issued by the office of South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza stated that the five-member team was constituted for the “arrest of involved accused person(s) and impartial investigation” into the case. “The investigation team shall make all-out and diligent efforts to arrest the accused person(s) by utilising all available resources,” read the notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn. In a first information report (FIR) of the incident, dated January 23, the Karachi police said the fire was an “outcome of negligence and carelessness”. The case was registered against unknown persons as the police have not nominated anyone in the case. The special team will comprise the Garden Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), the Kharadar investigation deputy superintendent of police (DSP), the head of the G...

Karachi is expected to have moderate weather during Ramazan with temperatures around 30°C, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.

KARACHI: The number of lives lost in the tragic Gul Plaza fire rose yet again on Sunday as two more bodies were recovered from the rubble, taking the death toll to 73. Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed confirmed to Dawn that the death toll has increased to 73. She added that so far, 23 deceased individuals have been identified, including 16 through DNA matching, six through facial identification and one because of their CNIC. Dr Syed stated that all DNA tests were being conducted at the Sindh Forensic DNA and Serology Lab at the University of Karachi. She shared a list of those identified so far: Kashif, son of Younus Aamir, son of Sulaiman Faraz, son of Anas Farooq, son of Anwar Furqan, son of Shoukat Mohammad Ali, son of Haji Habib Tanveer, son of Abdul Kaleem Mohammad Sharoz, son of Muhammad Iqbal Mohammad Athar, son of Shoukat Ali Sarfaraz, son of Noor Muhammad Mohammad Hanif, son of Abdul Ghani Misbah, daughter of Irfan Kausar Parveen, wife of Irfan Mohammad Saad, son of Muhammad Irfan Mohammad Ramzan, son...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday said temperatures in Karachi could fall to single digits over the weekend, adding that the city’s weather was likely to remain cold and dry with occasional winds. The city saw its second spell of winter showers on Thursday afternoon under the influence of a westerly wave that brought about light to moderate rainfall in several areas. Strong winds blew through the city after the rains, making the weather chillier. In a weather forecast, the PMD predicted a minimum temperature of 8.5 degrees Celsius on Saturday, while it is expected to drop further between 7°C and 9°C on Sunday. On Monday night, the minimum temperature is forecasted to rise slightly to 8-10°C. Meanwhile, the maximum temperature is expected to remain between 19-21°C on Saturday and Sunday, rising further to between 20°C and 22°C on Monday. Partial screengrab of the PMD weather forecast issued on Jan 24, 2026. According to the Met Office, the humidity levels are predicted to remain between ...

The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has launched an emergency survey of buildings across Karachi and issued notices to more than 100 structures following the deadly fire at Gul Plaza shopping mall that left several people dead and many still untraced.

KARACHI: Seven people were rescued while a search operation was underway to find four others missing after a merchant vessel hit a fishing boat off Manora Beach on Friday morning. South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that seven people had been rescued, with four still missing, in the incident. In a statement, an Edhi Foundation spokesperson said that their divers had continued the search operation during the day but it had to be halted once night fell. He said the resuce operation would resume on Saturday morning. DIG Raza detailed that the incident took place in a channel of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) at about 2am, when a civil fishing boat named Al-Shahbaz was hit by merchant vessel Kang Huan. “All fishermen on the boat jumped into the sea, and the fishing boat toppled down,” the police officer added. Subsequently, rescue operations were initiated by HPO, the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency and the KPT. “Seven persons were rescued by another fishing boat,” DIG Raza said, adding ...

KARACHI: The death toll of Karachi’s Gul Plaza blaze crossed 70 on Friday as rescuers found more remains from the rubble of the gutted shopping centre. Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed issued an updated list of 71 deceased. Of the 16 identified so far, nine were identified through DNA tests, which have been performed for 49 samples. The deadly inferno, which erupted on the night of January 17 at the mall and took nearly two days to be fully extinguished, has left the ground-plus-three-storey building in ruins, with some sections collapsed. As more bodies were recovered from different parts of the building, officials cautioned that the final toll can only be determined once the identification of the remains is completed. Meanwhile, officials expressed the hope to complete their search efforts on Friday. South Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javed Nabi Khoso told reporters that the search operation was in the “final stages”. “The search in the wreckage will be completed today,” he said. Stating that a total of 77 missi...

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Friday approved a comprehensive package worth Rs21.53 billion, including a Rs13bn grant-in-aid for rehabilitating and improving Town Municipal Corporations’ (TMCs) road infrastructure in Karachi. According to a press release by the CM’s office, the initiative aims to ease traffic congestion, improve public safety, and boost economic activity in the provincial capital. The meeting, held at CM House, was attended by Local Government Minister Nasir Shah, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Karachi Commissioner Hassan Naqvi, Finance Secretary Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary to the CM Raheem Shaikh, and other relevant officers. Nasir informed the chief minister that 24 TMCs across Karachi had requested funding to repair severely dilapidated roads and streets. Due to financial constraints, these TMCs were unable to carry out the works independently. Wahab reported that 409 roads across seven districts of Karachi needed rehabilitation, including 400 re...

KARACHI - Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader and Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal on Thursday demanded that Karachi be declared a federal territory under Articles 148 and 149 of the Constitution, saying it is necessary “for the sake of Pakistan”.

KARACHI: The death toll of the deadly fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza reached 67 on Thursday as rescuers continued to comb through the wreckage of the gutted building. Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed issued a list of 67 individuals, only seven of which had been identified. Earlier in the day, she had issued a list confirming the deaths of 50 people. A separate statement issued by the Sindh health department spokesperson also said that the post-mortem examination of 67 bodies had been conducted. The updated death toll comes a day after officials found the bodies of 30 people from a single shop on the mezzanine floor. The plaza, parts of which have collapsed due to the blaze, was a ground-plus-three-storey building with 1,200 shops spread over 8,000 square yards. Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan told Dawn that urban search and rescue teams were conducting a search operation with the help of a thermal imaging camera (TIC). “Urban search and rescue teams are working at the incident site and using specia...

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Mustafa Kamal on Thursday called on the federal government to declare Karachi a federal territory by making it the country’s “financial capital”. The remarks come against the backdrop of the Gul Plaza inferno in the metropolis, which has resulted in lawmakers stressing the need for reforms in the city’s administration, particularly in local governments (LGs). Kamal, addressing a press conference today, called on the federal government to “invoke Article 148 and 149 of the Constitution, and declare Karachi as the financial capital of the country”. Article 148 of the Constitution pertains to the obligation of provinces and the federation, while Article 149 allows the federal government to issue directives to provinces in certain cases. Article 149 enables the federal government to direct provincial governments regarding the “manner in which the executive authority thereof is to be exercised for the purpose of preventing any grave menace to the peace or tranquilli...

KARACHI: Parts of Karachi received rain on Thursday under the influence of a westerly wave, which the Met Office said was expected to lead to a dip in temperatures till Saturday. Reports of rain were received from Surjani, North Karachi, Scheme 33, Super Highway, Defence Housing Authority, Sohrab Goth, Clifton, Sharea Faisal and Gulistan-i-Jauhar. Data from the Met Office showed that the highest amount of rainfall in Karachi fell in Surjani Town, with 26.3 millimetres (mm) of rain recorded as of 5pm. The lowest readings were in Kemari and the old airport area, with trace amounts of rainfall, while Orangi Town, Quaidabad, Saddar and Bin Qasim saw no rain at all. In other parts of Sindh, Jacobabad and Sukkur experienced the most rainfall, with each recording 10mm of rain. The least fell in Shaheed Benazirabad and Sakrand, with both recording 1mm each. Karachi only received trace amounts of rainfall, according to the data. Meanwhile, an alert by the traffic police at 3:49pm said Hub River Road had been closed fo...