Bilwal Kamran
Pakistan’s industrial landscape continues to be a death trap for workers, as recent tragedies in Faisalabad and Hyderabad demonstrate. A gas explosion at a Faisalabad glue factory killed at least 20 people, while a fireworks factory blast in Hyderabad claimed at least 10 lives. These incidents are not isolated, they reflect long-standing safety failures, lax enforcement, and lack of accountability that have persisted for years.
In Faisalabad, a pre-dawn gas leak triggered an explosion that destroyed a cluster of factories and damaged nearby homes. Rescuers spent hours extracting bodies from rubble. Early confusion over the cause of the blast, whether gas or a boiler, reflects the chaotic aftermath typical of such events. Unsafe, overcrowded conditions in factories made workers vulnerable, and many paid with their lives.
Follow Republic Policy YouTube
Hyderabad’s disaster was equally shocking. Fireworks were being manufactured illegally inside a residential house in Latifabad. Explosive materials were hidden in a tunnel-like structure, while the owner reportedly held a licence for another location. The blast was heard miles away, killing workers instantly and leaving others with severe burns. Authorities’ orders to seal illegal fireworks units and relocate LPG shops show prior awareness of the risks, yet action only followed a tragedy.
Such negligence is tragically familiar in Pakistan. The Baldia factory fire of 2012, which killed over 260 workers, should have transformed occupational safety. Instead, more than a decade later, factories still lack fire exits, inspections remain sporadic, informal workshops operate in residential areas, and labour departments are understaffed and politically sidelined.
Follow Republic Policy Facebook
The government must go beyond inquiries and compensation. Pakistan urgently needs harmonised workplace safety laws, mandatory third-party audits for high-risk industries, unannounced inspections with real penalties, and relocation of hazardous units outside populated areas. Worker safety must be non-negotiable. Until the state values human lives as much as industrial output, these tragedies will continue and every charred building will testify to official neglect.
