Funeral prayers for 13 more victims of the Gul Plaza tragedy were offered across various areas of the city on Friday, with emotional scenes witnessed at multiple locations. Residents, along with political, religious, and social figures, attended the prayers.
The funeral prayers for the wives of Qaiser Ali and Rafi Ali were held at the Jamia Masjid Dar-us-Salam in Metroville Block III, Site Area. The funeral prayers for Dr Ayesha, her husband Umar Nabeel and their son Ali bin Umar were held at a mosque in Shadman Town after the Friday prayers. The prayers were attended by a large number of family members and residents. The funeral prayers for Faisal, Saleem, Asif and Abrar, who also lost their lives in the tragedy, were offered at Muhammadi Ground in Usmanabad after the Friday prayers. Political, religious and social figures, including leaders of the Sunni Tehreek and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), attended the prayers along with relatives, friends and local residents.
The funeral prayers for Mohsin were held in New Karachi. Sindh PPP General Secretary Senator Waqar Mehdi attended the funeral prayers of victims Bilal and Faizan near the Muhammadi Masjid in Gulbahar. Meanwhile, the funeral prayers for Saeed, another victim of the incident, were offered at the Jamia Masjid Taqwa in Gulshan-e-Iqbal.
During the funeral gatherings, prayers were offered for mercy to the departed souls, and patience and strength for the grieving families. According to the police final report, a total of 79 persons were reported missing after the fire. The bodies initially recovered were six, including that of firefighter Furqan. Later, 73 bodies were recovered.
A total of 56 DNA samples of family members were collected for cross-match. DNA could not be obtained from a total of 18 bodies, and the bodies handed over to the families were 69. According to the initial findings, the fire at the Gul Plaza on the night of January 17 originated on the ground floor at an artificial flower shop. The report prepared by the Karachi commissioner and Karachi additional IG stated that the blaze was triggered while 13-year-old Aryan and 11-year-old Huzaifa were playing with matchsticks. The fire quickly spread, engulfing the entire market, and officially claimed 79 lives while causing losses worth billions of rupees.
