SHC CJ tells Sindh govt, governor to appoint judge for Gul Plaza probe

The Chief Justice (CJ) of the Sindh High Court (SHC), Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput, has advised the Sindh government and the Governor of Sindh to follow the procedure laid down by the Supreme Court in 2023 for initiating an inquiry into the Gul Plaza incident in Karachi, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Friday.

According to the report, the direction came in response to separate letters received from Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Governor Kamran Tessori seeking the constitution of a judicial inquiry commission to investigate the incident.

According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, Governor Tessori's principal secretary wrote to the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court on January 27, 2026, requesting the formation of a judicial inquiry commission under the court’s supervision to probe the Gul Plaza tragedy.

Two days later, on January 29, following approval from the provincial cabinet, the Sindh government sent a separate letter from Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah requesting the nomination of a serving judge of the Sindh High Court to conduct the inquiry.

Both letters were received by the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, who responded to them in writing, and the court’s reply was formally conveyed to the Sindh government today.

In the written response, the Chief Justice observed that in matters of public importance, the Sindh government is for the government itself to appoint a judge or a legal expert to ascertain facts, fix responsibility and formulate recommendations.

The letter further clarified that consultation with the head of an institution is required only when a proposed inquiry is to be conducted by a member of that specific institution.

The Chief Justice noted that the request for constituting a judicial inquiry commission was not in line with the Supreme Court’s 2023 judgment on inquiry commissions, adding that such a request could not be approved unless the legal procedure was strictly followed.

The Sindh High Court also directed the provincial government to place the court’s response before the Governor of Sindh for consideration.

It is pertinent to mention that the governor’s principal secretary had written to the Sindh High Court on January 27, seeking the establishment of an inquiry commission under the court’s supervision, while the Sindh government, after a cabinet decision on January 29, wrote to the registrar of the high court requesting the nomination of a serving judge.

The key difference between the two requests was that the Sindh government sought only the appointment of a judge to conduct the inquiry, whereas the governor had asked the Sindh High Court itself to oversee the inquiry process.

Reporter: Mumtaz Jamali