After the Gul Plaza incident in Karachi, the remains of 12 people who burned to death have been identified through antemortem data and proof of presence, and handed over to their families. According to officials overseeing the identification process, this brings the number of identified victims of the Gul Plaza fire to 39.
How were they identified?
Identification project head Aamir Hassan, speaking to a private TV channel, said the remains were identified by reconstructing antemortem data, evidence of presence inside Gul Plaza and mobile phone location records, and then matching them with information obtained during postmortem examinations.
For the first time in Pakistan’s history, the remains of victims of an incident of this scale have been identified through antemortem data, proof of presence at the location and mobile phone location, and then scientifically linked to postmortem findings.
According to Hassan, in some cases, family members recovered remains from their shops, while location data confirmed that the victims were present at the same place at the time of the incident. He also gave the example of Abubakar, whose son Taj Muhammad went with rescue workers to recover his father’s remains. In three cases, identification was made through video evidence confirming the victims’ presence inside Gul Plaza.
Who was identified?
Those identified include three members of a family from North Nazimabad who had come to Gul Plaza for shopping. They are Umar Nabeel, his wife Dr Ayesha, and their son Ali.
Two real brothers, Nematullah and Abdullah, who ran a karkari shop in Dubai Karkari Market and lived in SITE Metroville, were also identified. Their two cousins, Yousuf Khan and Sadaqatullah, who lived in Baghicha, were also among those killed.
Other people identified include Yaseen, the owner of a karkari shop in Qasba Colony; three real brothers, Khizar Ali, Haider Ali and Aamir Ali; and Abubakar, a resident of Ranchore Line.
Identification methods and remaining cases
According to officials, of the 39 victims identified so far, 20 were identified through DNA testing, 12 through antemortem data and proof of presence, six through facial recognition, and one through an identity card recovered from the site.
The results of DNA tests for four to five people are still awaited from the Sindh Forensic DNA and Serology Laboratory. According to authorities, DNA results for most of the remaining samples were negative, while no usable DNA samples could be obtained from several sets of remains.
Because of the intense and prolonged fire, most of the remains were reduced to ashes. As soon as the remains were touched, they began to crumble, and no biological fluids were present.
In such a situation, it became necessary to find an alternative method so the remains could be handed over to their families.
According to Hassan, international humanitarian standards permit the use of proof of presence in such cases. This includes confirming the affected person’s location and presence inside the building, verifying personal items found at the site, and reconciling this information with postmortem findings.
When all these elements are reconstructed and matched, the remains can be handed over to families legally and ethically. This procedure has been used for the first time in Pakistan.
Officials said the process of identifying the remains is still ongoing, and that the remains of more than 10 additional victims are also expected to be identified through antemortem data and proof of presence.
