At least six killed in Pakistan as fire rips through Karachi shopping mall

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by Al Jazeera StaffJanuary 18, 2026 at 10:31 AM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

A major fire at the Gul Plaza shopping mall in Karachi, Pakistan, on Saturday, January 18, 2026, has killed at least six people and injured about 20. The densely packed commercial complex, containing roughly 1,200 shops, burned for hours, with authorities managing to control about 30 percent of the blaze by early Sunday. Rescue officials fear people may still be trapped inside, and part of the building collapsed due to the fire's intensity. Initial findings suggest a short circuit in one of the shops caused the fire to spread rapidly. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have expressed condolences and ordered assistance for those affected.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

PTV 40% Dawn 40% Mohsin Raza 50% Asif Ali Zardari 60% Syed Asad Raza 60% Edhi Foundation ×270% Gul Plaza 70% Shehbaz Sharif ×270% Pakistan ×280% Karachi ×290%

Keywords

fire 100% shopping mall 90% karachi 80% pakistan 70% deaths 70% injured 60% rescue efforts 50% building collapse 40% short circuit 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.70

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Karachi

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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fire shopping mall karachi pakistan deaths injured rescue efforts building collapse short circuit

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