They urged the government to create a professional body with a clear mandate to prevent incidents like the Gul Plaza fire and to address health and safety matters through corrective as well as preventive measures.

Regular debates and discussions, they said, were also needed to push the issue onto the government’s list of priorities.

Speaking at the seminar, titled ‘Urban Planning and Safety Measures: An Overview’, organised by the Urban Resource Centre, occupational health and safety professional Naeem Sadiq said safety was fundamentally a public issue concerned with protecting ordinary citizens, yet it received little attention.

“More than 40 per cent of the security force remains engaged in protecting only a few thousand individuals. In Sindh, the Special Security Unit exists to safeguard rulers, while the public is left vulnerable,” he said, adding that fires and industrial accidents typically affected workers and low-income communities rather than those in positions of authority.

Citing figures, he said around 1,000 fire incidents occurred annually, while thousands died in factory-related accidents. Nearly 500,000 dog-bite cases were reported each year and close to 100 coal miners lost their lives annually in workplace incidents.

Referring to public health expenditure, Mr Sadiq said Pakistan “has borrowed $2bn over the past 15 years” to administer polio drops. Despite this, he argued, eradication remained elusive because the underlying problem lay in poor sanitation and a dysfunctional sewage system.

The funds, he suggested, could have been invested in improving sanitation infrastructure to address the root cause.

Giving the example of a bridge collapse in Mississippi, United States, he said that while structural overload was identified as the immediate cause, administrative negligence was found to be the underlying factor, as authorities had been alerted to weaknesses but failed to act. Following the incident, the US introduced numerous legal amendments, strengthened inspection regimes and increased maintenance budgets to prevent a recurrence.

He contrasted this with the collapse of the Sher Shah bridge, which occurred within weeks of its construction around 19 years ago. According to him, the incident resulted from faulty design, substandard materials and corruption. “Since 2007, 12 bridges have collapsed in Pakistan, yet their root causes have not been addressed,” he said.

Questioning governance priorities, he observed that safety mechanisms often focused on protecting influential individuals rather than the general public. After major accidents, he said, authorities typically announced compensation, blamed lower-level officials and ordered inquiries, the findings of which rarely led to structural reform.

For any system to function effectively, he maintained, four components were essential: institutional ownership, strong legal and procedural frameworks, oversight through checks and balances, and a mechanism for correction and continuous improvement. He claimed that these elements were largely absent in Pakistan’s safety regime.

In developed countries, he noted, specialised bodies such as the UK’s Health and Safety Executive and the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforced compliance, conducted audits, ensured accountability and provided training. These institutions also compelled employers to compensate injured workers and imposed penalties in cases of negligence.

Explaining accident investigations, Mr Sadiq said inquiries generally identified direct, underlying and root causes. While the direct cause might involve an individual act, such as negligence triggering a fire, underlying causes related to gaps in training, risk assessment and emergency preparedness.

Root causes, he said, were linked to policy failures and weak oversight at senior levels. In Pakistan, he added, focus often remained confined to the immediate trigger, leaving systemic shortcomings untouched.

“In many countries, negligence in health and safety leads to criminal charges and resignations,” he said. “In Pakistan, it is rare to hear of a chief executive resigning or facing prosecution for neglecting safety.”

Architect and URC chairman Arif Hasan endorsed the call for reform, saying urban challenges were intensifying and required collective pressure on policymakers.

He emphasised that safety audits of buildings were a crucial step and must not be neglected. Drawing on his experience, he said governments act only when pressure is applied.

To create and maintain such pressure, he reiterated the need for open debates, talks and seminars on public health and safety in schools, colleges, universities and other institutions.

Published in Dawn By Dawar Shoaib, February 12th, 2026