The Information Commission orders disclosure following the party’s allegation of cover-up of deadly flame investigation
Fire at Gul Plaza. PHOTO: XINHUA
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Tuesday slammed the Sindh government over what it termed deliberate concealment of the Gul Plaza fire investigation report, following an interim order by the Sindh Information Commission.
In a statement, the party’s spokesman welcomed the commission’s decision, calling it a victory for the people of Sindh and a setback for what he described as a “corrupt feudal system” and bureaucratic collusion within provincial departments.
The spokesman said the interim order, issued on a complaint filed by lawyer Muhammad Tariq Mansoor, had raised serious questions about the provincial government’s role in withholding the judicial commission’s findings in the deadly fire.
According to the statement, the Judicial Commission headed by Justice Agha Faisal had submitted a comprehensive inquiry report – comprising four additional volumes – to the Law Secretary on April 7, 2026 in the presence of media and the public.
But when a request was made under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on April 28 to access the report, the law secretary’s office refused to entertain the application, leading to criticism from the Information Commission.
The MQM-P spokesman termed the proposal as a violation of Article 19-A of the Constitution, which guarantees citizens’ right to access to information, adding that the commission had also expressed displeasure over the matter.
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He further claimed that the absence of the report had already affected the trial, noting that in a related case registered at the Nabi Bakhsh police station, a police charge sheet was returned by a trial judge due to the investigating officer’s failure to produce the investigation results.
“This reflects the extent to which the provincial government protects those responsible and obstructs justice,” the spokesman claimed.
The statement also criticized the law department for shifting responsibility to the home department, calling it an attempt to deflect accountability.
The Sindh Information Commission has since directed the Home Minister to present the complete report of the Gul Plaza Judicial Commission along with a separate inquiry report of the Karachi Commissioner dated 20 January 2026 at the next hearing scheduled for 8 July.
The MQM-P vowed to pursue the case across all available forums, including the courts and accountability institutions, until those responsible are held accountable and justice is delivered to the victims’ families.
