Karachi was shaken on Sunday night when three-year-old Ibrahim fell into an open manhole near the NIPA flyover in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. The child slipped from his father’s hand while the family was leaving a departmental store around 10 pm and ran ahead before falling into the uncovered stormwater drain.
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Residents immediately contacted local authorities, but no help arrived. Taking matters into their own hands, they arranged a crane and began digging, with assistance from volunteers from Edhi and Chhipa. However, lacking technical expertise, rescuers were unable to locate the child.
By midnight, anger erupted in the neighborhood as residents blocked the road in protest. Administrative teams arrived only the following morning around 10 am. After a 14-hour ordeal, Ibrahim’s body was recovered approximately 1.5 kilometers downstream in the drainage channel.
The manhole, part of a stormwater drain now functioning as a sewage channel from Gulistan-e-Jauhar to Gulshan-e-Iqbal, had reportedly been uncovered for several days, raising questions about civic negligence.
Ibrahim was the only child of his parents, who belong to Shah Faisal No. 5. Funeral prayers were offered after Isha, attended by lawmakers and local politicians.
The incident sparked debate in the Sindh Assembly. Jamaat-e-Islami MPA Muhammad Farooq called for Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab’s resignation, blaming city authorities and MQM-P for the collapse of civic services. MQM-P MPA Taha Ahmed questioned accountability, while Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon condemned the tragedy as “criminal negligence.”
Mayor Wahab expressed condolences and ordered an inquiry, stating, “I want to offer my condolences and stand with the parents at this difficult time,” and urged against politicizing the incident.
