KARACHI: Authorities in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Wednesday evacuated a two-year-old building after it tilted dangerously to one side, a spokesperson of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) confirmed, putting the spotlight on the lack of implementation of construction safety regulations in the city. 

A four-story building in the city’s Baldia Town neighborhood was evacuated by authorities after it started dangerously tilting to one side due to structural damage. 

The SCBA has declared 722 buildings in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city where over 20 million people live, as dangerous and unfit for living. The SBCA is the official authority in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province responsible for approving and regulating the construction of buildings.

Numerous building collapses in the city in recent years have led to accusations that the SBCA is negligent in ensuring builders adhere to construction safety standards. 

“This four-story building tiled to a side after one of its pillars were damaged,” an SBCA spokesperson told Arab News on condition of anonymity. 

“We immediately evacuated the nearby buildings as the collapse is likely to damage them,” he said, adding that action would be taken against those involved in the faulty construction.

The spokesperson said the authority is vigilantly working to identify dangerous buildings in the city. Building collapses in Karachi have, however, led to significant casualties and injuries in recent years.

Last month a three-story building collapsed in Karachi’s Liaquatabad neighborhood of the city. However, no casualties were reported in the incident as residents had already been evacuated from the building. 

On April 22, 2024, a three-story building in the North Nazimabad area collapsed, killing one man and injuring four others. On March 31, 2024, an old building in the city’s Ranchore Line area collapsed, injuring four men and one woman. 

On October 11, 2023, a building collapsed in Shah Faisal Colony, resulting in five deaths and two injuries. A two-story building in the Machar Colony area collapsed on December 18, 2023, killing three and injuring 17.

On June 10, 2020, a five-story residential building collapsed in Lyari, killing at least 25.

Peshawar: A former Pakistani senator was among five persons killed in a blast on Wednesday while they were campaigning for an upcoming by-election in the country’s northwestern Bajaur district, police and rescue officials confirmed.

Ex-senator Hidayat Ullah Khan was killed in a blast that targeted his vehicle in Bajaur district’s Damadola area while he was on his way to attend an election campaign for his nephew Najeeb Ullah, Bajaur Police Spokesperson Muhammad Israr Khan said. 

“The number of persons killed has reached 5.” Khan told Arab News. “Three were killed on the spot while the others were taken to the hospital and died during treatment.”

He said police were still ascertaining the intensity of the blast, adding that the Bomb Disposal Squad [BDS] was at the site to investigate the blast. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Bilal Faizi had earlier said three persons had died in the blast. 

“Three dead bodies and one critically injured person were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Bajaur,” he said, adding that two others were injured in the incident. 

Khan, who was an independent senator from 2018 to 2024, was the son of former National Assembly lawmaker Hajji Bismillah Khan and the younger brother of ex-KP governor Shaukat Ullah Khan.

He was campaigning for his nephew Najeeb Ullah Khan, who is contesting the by-election on the PK-22 provincial assembly seat in Bajaur as an independent candidate where polling is set to take place on July 11. 

Polling on the PK-22 constituency was postponed on Feb. 8 after independent candidate Rehan Zeb was killed by unidentified men days before the election.

Both the provincial and National Assembly seats from the constituency were won by Zeb’s brother Mubarak Zeb. He decided to vacate the PK-22 seat in favor of the National Assembly one, following which Pakistan’s election regulator then announced polling for the PK-22 constituency on July 11. 

TTP DENIES RESPONSIBILITY

Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to the west have seen a surge in militant attacks since Nov. 2022 when a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke down. 

Pakistan blames the TTP for the surge in violence, accusing it of targeting Pakistani security forces, politicians and civilians from Afghanistan in a bid to enforce its strict version of Islamic law in the country. 

The TTP, however, did not take responsibility for the blast. In a statement released to the media, the banned outfit accused the Pakistan Army of killing the former senator to malign it. 

“We would like to reiterate once again that we consider only the security forces and their personnel as our targets,” the TTP said. 

Separately, PM Shehbaz Sharif condoled over the loss of lives in the blast. He directed authorities to apprehend those involved in the blast and bring them to book. 

“Terrorist elements are enemies of the country’s peace and democracy,” Sharif said. “We will not rest until we eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country.” 

Pakistan’s government announced last month it would launch a new anti-terrorism operation titled “Azm-e-Istehkam” or Resolve for Stability to root out militants in the country.