Fresh details have emerged about the fire-hit Gul Plaza after documents obtained by Aaj TV revealed serious discrepancies in official records, including conflicting ownership claims, missing approvals and an expired lease, deepening questions over regulatory oversight.

According to Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) records, the title of the plot on which Gul Plaza stands is registered in the name of Genica Enterprises.

The plot was leased by the KMC in 1991. However, Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) records list Gul Muhammad Khanani as the owner of the same plot.

Sources said KMC records show no correction or update to the lease details after 1991.

Meanwhile, SBCA officials have so far failed to trace the plot approval file, raising concerns about how construction and subsequent changes were allowed.

Earlier investigations into the Gul Plaza tragedy had already pointed to serious negligence by the SBCA, including illegal approvals, missing ownership documentation and violations of building regulations.

Official documents show that the original approved building plan of Gul Plaza, a commercial market established in 1980, could not be located.

In the absence of the original approval, a revised plan was allegedly issued unlawfully, without fulfilling mandatory legal requirements.

Records further indicate that even the revised plan was never formally approved, yet a completion certificate was illegally issued in 2005.

Gul Plaza is built on an 8,128-square-yard plot identified as Plot No. 32 in Preedy Quarters, Karachi.

While SBCA records list Gul Muhammad Khanani as the owner, investigators said neither the original owner nor his heirs could be traced, and no revised or completion plan was ever submitted to the SBCA by the registered owner.

Investigators found that permission for the revised plan was submitted by a builder identified as Rafiq Japanwala, while documents related to the revised plan were filed by individuals named Qamaruddin and Abdul Haseeb.

Under building laws, approvals require no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the relevant land-owning authority and other departments. However, no such NOCs exist on record for Gul Plaza.

It also emerged that the revised plan was submitted after the plot’s lease in District South had expired. Officials noted that no approval can legally be granted without a valid lease.

Former SBCA officers are accused of ignoring illegal constructions at the site, including the addition of shops on access passages.

Investigators also revealed that parking space was unlawfully shifted from the basement to the rooftop, described by sources as the only such irregular arrangement in Karachi.

The findings have raised serious questions about accountability within the SBCA and the role of multiple authorities in allowing Gul Plaza to operate despite apparent legal and regulatory violations.