Daily wage workers, vendors stunned by the ruins of Gul Plaza, fear loss of livelihood
Smoke rises as firefighters spray water to extinguish a massive fire that broke out at the Gul Plaza Shopping Center building in Karachi, Pakistan, January 18, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
KARACHI:
Gul Plaza may have been reduced to ashes, but the deeper tragedy is etched on the faces of vendors and day laborers whose livelihoods depended on the building. For them, the fire has not only destroyed a marketplace – it has extinguished hope and plunged hundreds of families into anxiety, grief and uncertainty.
Outside the charred structure, workers stand in stunned silence, repeatedly pleading to be allowed inside to retrieve what little may have survived the fire. But due to ongoing rescue operations, authorities blocked access, adding to their anxiety.
They seemed helpless and despairing, asking each other the same haunting questions: How are we going to find work now? What will we earn? When will the shops open again? What do we bring home to our families? With Ramazan and Eid approaching, their worries are heightened.
These voices belong to the vendors and workers who worked at Gul Plaza – men who now spend their days and nights praying that their livelihoods may somehow be restored.
“With the space, my kitchen fire also went out,” said Chacha Saleem, sitting on a footpath nearby. Saleem, a handcart operator who transported goods to shops and warehouses inside Gul Plaza, asked not to be photographed. Visibly broken, he said, “I am helpless. I am the only earner in my family. We live in a rented part in Jubilee. I used to deliver goods here – used to. When Gul Plaza burned, the fire in my home’s kitchen also went out.”
Ahmed Habib, who owned a toy shop in the building, said he employed five salesmen and had run a successful business. “Everything was normal just three days ago,” he said. “I had closed my shop and left before the fire broke out. Suddenly the flames engulfed the whole building. Some people managed to escape, but we don’t know how many were trapped inside or lost their lives.” He said the tragedy had reduced even wealthy traders to ruin.
Rehan, who ran a cosmetics shop for women, said his shop was completely destroyed. “All of us shopkeepers are drowning in grief. At least our lives were saved, but financially we are done. Aman Safdar, a young resident of Lyari, described Gul Plaza as an economic hub that supports thousands of households. “The season of Ramazan and Eid was near where work usually improves. Instead, the fire destroyed the building and shut down businesses. This tragedy will push many families toward starvation.”
For Abubakar, who delivered homemade lunches from the Garden to several stores, the loss is devastating. “I earned about Rs. 2,000 a day,” he said. “Now everything is gone, but I believe that when God closes one door, he opens another.
Raju, who worked in a service shop, urged the government to set up a temporary market or bazaar nearby so that small traders could restart businesses.
As the investigation and relief efforts continue, the silent suffering of Gul Plaza’s workers remains a stark reminder that behind the burned walls lie hundreds of lives struggling to survive – waiting not for sympathy, but for work, dignity and hope.
