Pakistan’s showbiz personalities have expressed deep grief and anger over the death of a three-year-old boy who fatally fell into an open manhole near Karachi’s Nipa flyover, raising serious questions about the alleged negligence of local authorities.
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Mahira Khan, star of Neelofar, voiced heartbreak on X (formerly Twitter), recalling the “screaming and crying” of young Ibrahim’s mother. “Who the hell is answerable for Karachi in Karachi? Unimaginable apathy,” she wrote.
Sajal Ali, known for Yaqeen Ka Safar, also condemned the incident, calling it “extremely sad and heartbroken.”
“Who is responsible for Karachi? Who is responsible for this collapsing, failed system?” she wrote on Instagram. “A child lost his life today… They must have been waiting for a miracle, but because we have no functioning system, there was no one to save him.”
The tragedy occurred when three-year-old Ibrahim slipped into an uncovered manhole outside a departmental store. Rescue teams recovered his body from a drain nearly one kilometre away, about 14 hours after the accident.
According to the child’s father, the family had been shopping when Ibrahim ran ahead after slipping free from his hand and fell into the open manhole.
Residents said they made over 40 calls and sent emails throughout the night to alert authorities, but only a BRT engineer responded, while municipal departments allegedly shifted blame among themselves.
Outraged locals later held protests at Nipa Chowrangi, burning tyres and warning that the 1.5-kilometre stretch dug up during the search now poses an additional safety risk.
