PAKISTAN

Majority of Islamabad buildings do not have fire safety certificates: CDA

Kashif Abbasi 

Published February 1, 2026 

DAWN



Construction work on a few commercial buildings is underway on the G-8/G-9 section of the Blue Area. — Photo by Tanveer Shahzad/File


ISLAMABAD: Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Tuesday revealed majority of buildings in Islamabad have not obtained fire safety certificates.

In the wake of the Karachi Gul Plaza inferno, the CDA recently decided to get survey of buildings of Islamabad to ensure fire and safety system.

“CDA has completed the survey regarding Fire Safety & Hazard Control in the Federal Capital, Islamabad. A total of 6,500 buildings were surveyed in this regard.

During the survey, it was observed that most buildings had not obtained approval for their fire safety plans, and the completion/fire safety certificates for these buildings had also not been issued. During the survey, 300 government buildings were also inspected, read an official handout issued by CDA.

This information was shared in a meeting held here at CDA headquarters with Chairman CDA Mohammad Ali Randhawa in the chair and attended by members administration and planning, DC Islamabad and other officers concerned.

“Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi had taken notice and directed the CDA to conduct a survey of all buildings in Islamabad regarding Fire Safety and Hazard Control at the earliest. In light of the direction all relevant departments, including the Capital Emergency Services and the Building and Housing Control Wing were directed to complete the survey immediately,” the official statement said.

The meeting that building owners and occupants would be directed to submit their Fire Safety and Hazard Control Certificates to the relevant offices of CDA’s Building & Housing Control Wing within fifteen days. Otherwise, legal action will be initiated against those not complying with the direction under the CDA Ordinance and the Islamabad Capital Territory Building Control Regulations 2020 (Amended 2023).

“This will entail fines and other enforcement measures. In this context, if an accident occurs in a building due to non-submission of the required certificates, the responsibility will lie with the concerned owners and the building management,” read the statement.

It said that building owners and their management are further requested to immediately ensure the safety status of their buildings and submit the necessary documents on time so that public safety standards can be maintained in the Capital.

The meeting decided that all building owners and occupants will have their buildings inspected on an annual basis and submit certificates regarding fire safety measures in accordance with the Pakistan Engineering Council codes to the CDA. Furthermore, regular fire safety drills will also be arranged in all buildings.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2026

Kashif Ali Abbasi is an Islamabad-based reporter for Dawn with 17 years of experience in journalism. He covers sports, the education sector, and civic issues. He can be found on X at @AbbasiKashif833.

Karachi’s fires are not accidents

Quratulain Jalali 

Published January 26, 2026
DAWN

Fire accidents in Karachi are not new, yet we treat each incident as an isolated tragedy rather than a symptom of systemic infrastructure failure. The Gul Plaza fire, which led to a structural collapse, tragic loss of life, and huge financial losses to the economic system, is just another accident to join the list of disasters such as Bolton Market, Cooperative Market, Timber Market, etc, and many more.

The poor emergency response, lack of institutional capacity, non-existent safety measures for fire workers, and, most importantly, the absence of enforced fire safety standards in buildings were brought to the attention of the entire city, as Gul Plaza was a market visited by all segments of society.

The heart of this problem lies in the dangerous balance between building use and building capacity. Buildings that were designed decades ago for limited commercial activity are now used as high-traffic shopping malls with shops, warehouses, eateries, and vehicular parking. The electrical systems are overloaded, escape routes are blocked, staircases are narrowed by encroachment, and firefighting is nearly impossible in these buildings due to congestion.

Cities in developing nations face similar problems, such as aging infrastructure, informality in development, and rapid urbanisation, but have learned from their mistakes and demonstrated that fire safety can be improved on an ad hoc basis as well. For example, in Brazil, nightclub and high-rise fires prompted the government to implement regulatory reforms to strengthen evacuation procedures and fire safety audits, contributing to safer buildings.

Real resilience will only come in the form of active preventive measures to ensure the safety of our homes and workplaces

Similarly, Argentina’s adoption of international fire codes aligned with local testing standards for alarms, exits, and suppression systems is another example from the developing world. In Singapore, the country’s strict fire safety regime is ensured through routine inspections, certifications, and public accountability. This has led to a measurable reduction in fire incidents across residential and industrial zones.

Moreover, Indonesia has a national-provincial partnership in this regard, which has resulted in a major decline in commercial fires. These instances clearly indicate that progress does not depend on wealth but on good governance, prioritisation, and strict enforcement.

By contrast, Karachi continues to host a varied stock of unsafe buildings that are still occupied despite lacking any fire safety provisions. This is very clear in the congested markets, where buildings serve as pseudo-malls for the middle class. Areas such as Saddar, Tariq Road, Hyderi market, Liaquatabad, and Karimabad are visited by thousands of shoppers daily, in buildings and streets not designed for such heavy usage, not to mention the lack of accessibility for a fire truck.

Narrow stairwells, sealed shopfronts, grilled openings, illegal mezzanines, and locked exits are common. These markets are now used like high-end modern malls but lack modern safety compliance regimes or systems built into the design of new malls, and a small electric spark can escalate into a mass-casualty event.

While the fire safety infrastructure on the city level is the state’s responsibility, occupants need to look out for themselves. We hire security guards for our homes, shops, and streets, despite there being police stations and chowkis in every area. Unfortunately, this is just another aspect of urban life that we need to control on our own.

Karachi’s citizens are opening their hearts and wallets for the affectees of the recent tragedy, which is being labelled as a display of resilience, but real resilience will only come in the form of active preventive measures to ensure the safety of our homes and workplaces.

Warning signs are very clear; too many bunched-up exposed wiring, illegal connections or kundas, absence of alarms or smoke detectors, poor ventilation, fixed grilles in openings, unsafe storage for flammable materials, lack of fire-extinguishers, blocked exits with illegal commercial encroachment, and poor ventilation are very common sightings in a regular market for Karachi’s middle class.

Retrofitting the buildings for fire safety does not always involve structural intervention. Existing buildings must also be encouraged to add external or internal fire-exit staircases as retrofitted features that exit on the pavement, and these escape routes should be foldable or well-integrated in the street design, not treated as violations or as an afterthought, but should serve the building and the city.

Along with fire-resistant doors on staircases, emergency lighting, and clear signage, these measures can significantly improve human safety in the event of a fire. In congested markets and apartment blocks, corridors should be cleared, spaces should be compartmentalised to slow fire spread, existing stairwells should be enclosed, and fire drills should be conducted regularly in markets, schools, and even large apartment complexes.

Market associations need to enforce this as a mandatory activity, as they can differentiate between safe escape and fatal entrapment. Security measures to deter theft often create fatal bottlenecks, fixed grilles on windows, staircase openings, and side entrances block escape routes and trap occupants inside. While grilles are necessary to prevent theft and burglary, they should have quick-release mechanisms and collapsible systems that preserve life safety while ensuring security.

While individual residents and shopkeepers lack resources for meaningful upgrades, pooled private investment can support shared alarm systems, professional audits, and basic firefighting infrastructure. However, this ‘apni madad aap’ cannot substitute the role of the government, which continues to give excuses.

The writer is an architect and an urban planner currently leading her own practise, “Beyond Facades”.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, January 25th, 2026