You can’t run a city of 20 million people and treat public safety like it’s an afterthought. But that’s exactly what’s happening in Karachi. A fire safety audit checked 266 buildings along three of the city’s busiest roads, and the results are pretty grim.
Just six buildings passed even the most basic fire safety checks. Two years after that audit, not much has changed. So we’re left with a bigger question than just bad wiring or missing alarms: Why is a city this big run with such weak oversight? And when something goes wrong, who actually answers for it?
A Warning Ignored
Back in January 2024, the fire safety audit should’ve set off alarms, literally and figuratively. Instead, by early 2026, almost none of its recommendations had been put in place. More than 200 buildings still don’t have firefighting equipment. Almost two-thirds don’t even have emergency exits. Seventy percent have dodgy wiring.
These aren’t small mistakes. They’re obvious violations that put thousands of people in danger every day. Fires in Karachi aren’t some freak accident. They happen often, and the response is always the same: outrage for a few days, and then everyone moves on.
Fragmented Governance and Institutional Failure
The truth is, Karachi’s government is a mess. Too many agencies, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Sindh Building Control Authority, district offices, fire services, each doing their own thing. Nobody really owns the problem, so nothing gets fixed. Reports get written and filed away. Recommendations get ignored. Even when buildings are unsafe, business interests and fear of exposing failure keep them open.
It’s not like Pakistan doesn’t have fire safety laws. The problem is, nobody enforces them. Building owners skip out on regulations because they know nothing’s going to happen. Inspections barely happen. Compliance certificates are just paperwork. If you’ve got the right connections, you can get away with anything.
Look at the numbers: only 90 out of 266 buildings even have fire alarms or smoke detectors. That says it all. Safety rules here are just suggestions, not requirements. And until breaking them actually costs something, money, reputation, legal hassle, nothing is going to change.
Enforcement Without Consequences
Who’s to blame? The honest answer: a lot of people. But the state is supposed to lead. Regulatory bodies like SBCA approve and monitor buildings. Municipal authorities are supposed to keep people safe. Fire departments need money and training. When none of these systems work, ordinary people pay the price.
Building owners and residents aren’t off the hook, either. Sometimes they skip safety fixes just to save a few bucks, putting everyone at risk. But in any city that works, that kind of negligence wouldn’t just slide by.
The Cost of Inaction
When nothing gets done, it costs more than just property. People lose their lives. Survivors deal with trauma for years. Businesses shut down. Every time an audit is swept under the rug or enforcement gets delayed, another disaster becomes more likely.
A city isn’t judged by its skyscrapers or how busy its roads are. It’s measured by how well it protects its people. Right now, Karachi is failing that test.
The city doesn’t need another audit. It needs action. Draw clear lines of responsibility. Inspect buildings regularly. Tell the public which buildings aren’t safe. Make sure there are real penalties for breaking the rules. Fire safety should be a basic duty, not an afterthought.
Until Karachi treats safety as something you can’t compromise on and actually holds people accountable, it’ll stay a place where risk is just part of daily life, and nobody ever really gets held responsible.
