Gul Plaza fire

DEATH TRAPS

Published in Dawn on January 23, 2026

Embed from Getty Images

THE recent fire at Gul Plaza proves that most buildings in Karachi remain death traps, and that nothing would be done to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future. Of course, there are people in the government whose duty it is to ensure that buildings are constructed with adequate safety precautions and have at least two emergency exits. There must be those who are required to visit such buildings periodically and ensure that fire prevention SOPs are being observed.

And we can be sure that, on paper at least, such officials have reported that all places they have inspected are safe, just as there are factory inspectors who never visit factories because they are paid to stay away and generate all-good reports.

That said, can everything be blamed on the government? What about the shop-keepers themselves? It has been many years since I last went to Gul Plaza, and I saw that many shopkeepers had kept their goods in the passages leading to the exits. This would have made it very difficult for their customers to quickly get out of the building in an emergency.

As for fire prevention measures, it is simply out of the question. Purchasing fire extinguishers and recharging them every six months is both time consuming and cumbersome. And, in any case, why waste one’s money on frivolous things like fire prevention measures? Right?

Of course, if relevant inspectors had regularly visited the building and imposed fines on errant shopkeepers, this tragedy could have been avoided. But, then, such officials have only one thing in mind: how to speedily recover the money they have paid to get transferred to Karachi, and how to become millionaires in a couple of years. Absolutely tragic.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1968588/death-traps

Karachi's mayor and solar power

Published in Dawn on January 16, 2026

WRONG ESTIMATE: This is with reference to the report ‘Mayor inaugurates Rs900m solar-powered street light project on Sharea Faisal’ (Jan 5), which quoted the Karachi mayor (Murtaza Wahab) as saying that the project would “save Rs25m in electricity bills” every year. I do not know whether to laugh or cry. A simple calculation (900 divided by 25) shows that the payback period for this project is 36 years. Ask anyone who knows the subject, and you will be told that the payback period should be of five years. The city mayor either does not know what he is talking about or someone has minted a lot of money.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1967290/wrong-estimate

Artificial intelligence: a future scenario

A future scenario

Published in DAWN, January 5th, 2026

ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is speedily becoming very popular as more and more people use it to save time. However, it is now impossible to say with certainty whether a particular video clip is fake or real. We know that there are many people who go berserk when they see videos of their womenfolk dancing or even photos in which they are seen seated next to men who are not their close relatives. What if someone posts a fake video or obscene photo of a woman (who has rejected his advances) on social media and sends it to her relatives?

Things have got so bad that it is now impossible to even talk to others without getting into an argument. If, for example, I mention a video of a cult leader saying something controversial, the immediate response is, “It’s probably AI-generated”. Neither side is in a position to establish authority of the claim in such cases.

Of course, there is a positive side to it also. In school, we were taught that politics and religious topics should be avoided when talking to friends or strangers. So the only safe thing left is sports, like, say, cricket. I know for sure that I would not be lynched if I say that a particular cricketer should not be selected for the next tour.

Certainly, a more serious problem is likely to surface in a few decades from now, when, fortunately I have no chance of being alive. When robots become increasingly like humans in appearance, how will someone know if the man or woman talking to them is real?

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1965215/a-future-scenario

A week later on January 12, this was again printed in DAWN (https://www.dawn.com/news/1966445/ais-future).

FBR accountability

Published in DAWN on November 09, 2025

THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Untaxed glamour’ (Nov 5), which rightly pointed out that “no one … should be allowed to stay outside the reach of the law”. While the move made by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) against tax dodgers who flaunt their wealth on social media is commendable, what about those who do not use social media and do not pay appropriate taxes, like the shopkeepers in Peshawar’s Karkhano Bazaar and other such markets in the big cities? I have heard some of them say that if any tax collector comes near them, he would be lucky to escape unhurt.

Then there are those who claim to derive their incomes from agriculture and, therefore, proudly say that they are exempted from payment of income tax, hiding behind the façade of a pittance that they pay as provincial agricultural tax.

Such pious men, like retailers and owners of huge and multiple properties, for example, regularly go to the holy land for pilgrimage, but do not register themselves with the tax authorities. They argue that tax rupees mostly enrich the tax collectors and those who rule the country. And, while we are still at it, why not investigate the lifestyle of FBR employees to catch those indulging in corruption?

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1954047/fbr-accountability

A different approach (dealing with India)

Published in Dawn on October 12, 2025

WITH the Bihar elections in India due soon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his henchmen are likely to do their best to blame Pakistan for all their failures. They want their people to believe that Pakistan is responsible for all their problems, including the fact that 40 per cent Indians are living below the poverty line, and many children have died after consuming contaminated cough syrups.

I suggest that instead of responding to any threats hurled by Indians, we should stay calm and not respond in kind. The best thing to do, of course, is to pretend that India does not exist, but since that is not possible, we should find an alternative way.

We could, for instance, point out that India could solve most of its problems by reducing its defence budget by half, and spend the money saved to feed its hungry masses. We could suggest that India would be better off buying fighter jets and missiles manufactured in Pakistan instead of France. Of course, the Indian government would not respond, but at least our offer would go some way towards convincing ordinary Indians not to fall for Pakistan-bashing.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1948353/a-different-approach

Disqualified or not

Published in DAWN on April 27, 2013

THE Election Commission of Pakistan has reportedly not disqualified some people who have submitted fake degrees.

One is tempted to ask about the use of Articles 62 and 63 if wrongdoers are not restrained from contesting elections. Knowing the mindset of the majority of our voters (who mostly vote on a caste basis), immoral and corrupt people will be elected again, giving them ample time to loot the country.

The next government should do it immediately.

Shakir Lakhani,

Karachi

Nationalisation of education

Published in Dawn on April 27, 2013

I SEE returning officers behaving like Taliban, when I see lawyers garlanding a man who killed the Punjab governor in full view of the public, when I read of a judge who acquitted three rapists (despite DNA tests proving their guilt) because the rape victim could not produce the mandatory four witnesses to the crime. 

When I see all this, I know that this almost total collapse of society is due to the nationalisation of education by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first and the only civilian martial law administrator of the country.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

UK minister resigns after cheating on property tax

Strange people

Published in DAWN on September 29, 2024 

 

BRITISH deputy prime minister Angela Rayner had to resign recently when it was discovered that she had cheated the government by not paying the full amount of property tax on her apartment. While accepting responsibility is a common practice in certain parts of the world, Pakistani politicians must have been shocked beyond belief. Has anybody heard of ministers in Pakistan paying property tax at all? And why should someone have to resign for something that is the norm in Pakistan? I will not be surprised if some of them believe that this is one of those `London plans` that are concocted every few years to destabilise the government. Pakistan should make it clear to the British government that such resignations are not in Pakistan`s interest, and that nothing of the sort should be allowed the next time one of their ministers is found to have been dishonest.

It is a matter of national interest, after all.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://epaper.dawn.com/DetailImage.php?StoryImagae=29_09_2025_007_006

No law for sugar mill owners!

NO LAW FOR MILL-OWNERS: If there is one thing we have learnt from all the past and present sugar crises, it is that no action will ever be taken against those responsible for the soaring prices. Mill-owners want to increase their wealth, buy properties and go on vacations. After all, most of them have spent a lot in getting elected to parliament. We should let them enjoy their illegally obtained wealth and not waste our time and energy in pointing out the rampant corruption around us. It is purely our fault for living in a country where there is one law for them and another for us.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Dawn, September 13, 2025

https://www.dawn.com/news/1941625/no-law-for-mill-owners

 

 

Looting by Mobilink Jazz

Exploitative company

Published in DAWN on September 6, 2025

 

THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Damning audit report’ (Aug 23), which, among other things, pointed out that a telecommunication company over-charged its customers to the tune of Rs 6.58 billion in a single financial year.

Over the last couple of years, the same company has been regularly increasing the price of its basic post-paid package, with the result that I am now paying more than twice the amount than what was the case earlier. When asked, its representatives told me that I could now use 15GB of data compared to four in the past, along with 3,500 minutes talking time and 3,000 messages. But I do not want all that. I just want 4GB data and a talking time worth no more than 100 minutes.

Why is there no cheaper package for consumers like me? The official reply is that I can always use a pre-paid package or switch to another cellular company. This is what corporate fraud looks like.

 

Shakir Lakhani 

Karachi 

https://www.dawn.com/news/1940095/exploitative-company

Failure to get Imran Khan freed

A key difference

Published in DAWN on August 17, 2025

THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Another attempt’ (Aug 6). The fact that there has been no popular movement to get the jailed opposition party leader freed despite two years of incarceration proves that the party and its leader are not as popular as they believe, or they want others to believe.

They fully expected that United States President Donald Trump would secure his release from prison. That did not happen. They spent millions on lobbying in order to persuade US Congressmen to do the bidding, but to no avail.

Recently, his two sons flew to the US for the same purpose, and returned without any result. They even spent a huge amount placing an advertisement in the New York Times, calling attention to the man’s ‘plight’ and appealing for his release. Where is all this money coming from?

Other Pakistani leaders, past and present, have been jailed for periods much longer than the former prime minister, but they did not go to any such length to secure their release.

And, this is despite the fact that the man has been jailed for corruption after an extended legal process on the basis of tangible evidence that was available against him. Perhaps the other political leaders who were jailed in the past did not have as much wealth as he surely has.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1931427/a-key-difference

 

Building collapse

Published in DAWN on July 24, 2025

BUILDING COLLAPSE: This is with reference to the editorial ‘Building collapse’ (July 5). I do not understand why some people often blame the Sindh government for such tragedies. It has done a ‘good job’ by taking necessary steps to prevent such incidents in future.

For instance, it renamed the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) as the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA). What else a government can do? Anyone can now violate building codes, and construct 15 floors above the permitted 10. This will allow at least some people to earn billions of rupees and send the money into foreign bank accounts. We should all stop blaming the seriously efficient Sindh government.

 

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

 

https://www.dawn.com/news/1926239/building-collapse

Boeing hired Indian software engineers at US$ 9.00 an hour!

Published in DAWN on July 01, 2025

THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Air India tragedy’ (June 15) which stated that Boeing had reached an agreement with the United States Justice Department to pay $1.1bn to avoid prosecution for the two widely reported 737-MAX crashes. Boeing has a history of trying to cut costs, and for this purpose it outsourced to Indian engineers the development of its 737-MAX planes, paying them only nine dollars an hour because their American engineers would have charged $35-40 an hour, as reported by IndustryWeek, which quoted Mark Rabin, a former software engineer.

Rabin, while talking about Indian engineers’ lack of competence, said: “The coders … were typically designing to specifications set by Boeing. Still, it was controversial because it was far less efficient than Boeing engineers just writing the code. Frequently, it took many rounds going back and forth because the code was not done correctly.”

Also, an Indian company, Hindustan Computers Ltd (HCL), played a major role in the development of the 787 Dreamliners, one of which crashed recently less than a minute after take-off from Ahmedabad.

The teams investigating the crash should seriously consider all the relevant background while looking into the incident.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1921317/dangerous-option

Fundamental questions

Published in DAWN on April 8, 1998 

Embed from Getty Images

This is with reference to Mr. Zaman Khan’s letter “Fundamental questions.” (Dawn, April 2). One explanation for the Quaid’s actions in the days after Independence may lie in the fact that he was too ill. The nation had a Prime Minister and a Cabinet, and Mr. Jinnah may have felt that he was bound to accept whatever decisions taken by them. 

But one should also remember that those were the days when the new-born country was fighting for it’s very survival. Dr. Khan Sahib and his partymen had been bitterly opposed to the creation of Pakistan, and they had lost the sympathy of the majority of the province after the vote for Pakistan in the referendum. 

Regarding the methods used to win over the support of the majority in the Assembly, Mr. Jinnah cannot be held responsible. He was after all the head of the state, not the head of the government. The courts were fully functional in those days also, and if questionable methods had been employed, these should have been challenged by the disgruntled few who were affected.