Fourteen people have been killed after a massive fire tore through a shopping centre in Karachi’s historic downtown, authorities said, as emergency crews continued search and rescue operations amid warnings that dozens remain missing.
The blaze erupted late on Saturday at Gul Plaza on MA Jinnah Road, a multi-storey mall housing around 1,200 shops selling clothing, electrical appliances, cosmetics, and crockery. Officials said the nature of the stored goods contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
Police surgeon Summaiya Syed earlier confirmed that bodies had been brought to Karachi’s Civil Hospital, while rescuers continued to recover victims from the debris.
Asad Raza, deputy inspector general of police south, told Geo News on Monday that operations were still underway at the site.
Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori visited the scene and said 70 to 80 people remained unaccounted for, adding that about 1,200 people had been doing business inside the building.
According to Karachi Metropolitan Corporation officials, firefighting has been completed, and teams are now focused on cooling the site and removing rubble.
Authorities cautioned that the old, structurally unstable building poses ongoing risks, forcing rescuers to proceed carefully.
Videos shared online showed flames engulfing the mall as firefighters struggled to contain the blaze, while distressed shop owners gathered outside, watching their businesses burn.
Local media reported that parts of the structure had already collapsed, raising fears of further failure as recovery efforts continue.
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At least 42 people have been killed and 104 wounded in fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Tuesday. The latest death toll figures come as fighting between the two neighbours enters its sixth day.
Protests broke out in Pakistan and Iraq on Sunday after Iranian state media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes. At least nine people were reported dead in clashes near the U.S. consulate in Karachi.
Afghanistan said it had fired at Pakistani aircraft over Kabul after explosions and gunfire rocked the capital early on Sunday, marking a sharp escalation in fighting between the two neighbours.
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said on Friday (27 February) they were ready to negotiate after Pakistan bombed their forces in several Afghan cities, including Kabul and Kandahar, and Islamabad declared the neighbours were now in "open war".
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Saudi Aramco closed its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday following an Iranian drone strike, an industry source told Reuters as Tehran retaliated across the Gulf after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranian targets over the weekend.
The Middle East crisis intensifies after the deadly attack on the compound of the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on Saturday that killed him, other family members and senior figures. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. targets in the region.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
Türkiye raised its security level for Turkish-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to Level 3 on Sunday (2 March). The development follows Iranian restrictions on shipping after U.S. and Israeli strikes and confirmation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
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