Salaried workers and vendors stunned by the ruins of Gul Plaza, fear losing their livelihoods
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 the vendors and daily laborers whose livelihood depended on the building. For them, the fire has not only destroyed a market: it has extinguished hope, plunging hundreds of families into anxiety, pain and uncertainty.
Outside the charred structure, workers stand in stunned silence, repeatedly pleading to be allowed inside to recover what little may have survived the fire. However, due to ongoing rescue operations, authorities banned entry, adding to their distress.
They seemed helpless and distraught, asking each other the same troubling questions: How will we find work now? What will we gain? When will the stores reopen? What will we take to our families? With the approach of Ramadan and Eid, their concerns have intensified.
These voices belong to the vendors and laborers who worked at Gul Plaza, men who now spend their days and nights praying that their livelihood will somehow be restored.
“With the plaza, my kitchen fire also went out,” said Chacha Saleem, sitting on a nearby path. Saleem, a pushcart operator who transported goods to shops and warehouses inside Gul Plaza, pleaded not to be photographed. Visibly devastated, he said, “I am helpless. I am the sole breadwinner of my family. We live in a rented part in Jubilee. I used to deliver goods here… I used to. When Gul Plaza burned, the fire in the kitchen of my house also went out.”
Ahmed Habib, owner of a toy store in the building, said he employed five salespeople and had run a successful business. “Everything was normal just three days ago,” he said. “I closed my shop and left before the fire broke out. Suddenly, flames engulfed the entire 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 merchants to ruin.
Rehan, who ran a women’s cosmetics store, said her shop was completely destroyed. “All of us traders are drowning in grief. At least our lives were saved, but economically we are finished. Aman Safdar, a young resident of Lyari, described Gul Plaza as an economic hub that supports thousands of households. “The Ramazan and Eid season was near, when work usually picks up. Instead, the fire destroyed the building and closed businesses. “This tragedy will push many families into hunger.”
For Abubakar, who supplied home-cooked lunches from Garden to several stores, the loss is devastating. “I earned around Rs 2,000 a day,” he said. “Now it’s all gone, but I believe that when God closes one door, he opens another.
Raju, who worked in a crockery shop, urged the government to set up a temporary market or bazaar nearby, so that small traders could restart their businesses.
As investigations and relief efforts continue, the silent suffering of the Gul Plaza workers remains a stark reminder that beyond the burned walls are hundreds of lives fighting to survive, waiting not for sympathy, but for work, dignity and hope.
