Widow of man killed in fireworks warehouse blast moves court for Rs64m compensation

The widow of a hearing aid lab owner, who was killed in the recent explosion at a fireworks warehouse on MA Jinnah Road, has filed a Rs64,500,000 demages suit against the owners of the warehouse and the provincial home secretary.

Uzma Shehzad filed the suit in a civil court in connection with the August 21 blast at Plot No. 129–130, Depot Line, Medical Equipment Market, Karachi, where a fireworks and explosives warehouse was allegedly being operated illegally in the middle of a medical marketplace. 

The powerful explosion left several people dead, including 40-year-old Shehzad Ali, co-owner of Carachi Hearing Aid Lab, a business valued at around Rs50 million, which he ran jointly with his brother.

The plaintiff, Shehzad’s widow, maintained that her husband was lawfully present at the business premises when he was fatally injured in the blast. She argued that negligence by the defendants in permitting and failing to regulate such a hazardous activity directly caused the tragedy, depriving her family of its sole breadwinner.

The compensation suit, filed under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, seeks a decree of Rs64.5 million against the warehouse owners, to be awarded jointly and severally.

The case has once again highlighted concerns over the unchecked presence of fireworks and explosives storage facilities in densely populated commercial areas, despite repeated complaints from traders and citizens.