A heartbreaking tragedy struck Karachi on Sunday night when a three-year-old boy, Ibrahim, drowned in an uncovered manhole near the NIPA flyover in Gulshan-e-Iqbal.
Around 10pm, Ibrahim’s father had parked his motorcycle near a departmental store and was unlocking it when the child slipped from his hand, ran ahead, and fell into the open manhole. Despite immediate calls from residents, official help did not arrive. Locals, frustrated by the delay, hired a crane themselves and tried to rescue the boy, with Edhi and Chhipa volunteers assisting, but lacked the technical expertise needed.
By midnight, local residents blocked the NIPA road in protest over the delayed response. Administrative authorities only reached the scene around 10am the next day, nearly 12 hours later. Tragically, Ibrahim’s body was recovered 14 hours after the incident, about 1.5 kilometers downstream in a drainage channel.
The open manhole, part of a stormwater drain now carrying sewage, had reportedly been without a cover for several days. Ibrahim was the only child of his parents from Shah Faisal No 5. His funeral was held after Isha prayers, attended by lawmakers and politicians.
The incident sparked outrage in the Sindh Assembly. Jamaat-e-Islami MPA Muhammad Farooq demanded Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab resign, blaming city administration and MQM-P for the civic failure. MQM-P MPA Taha Ahmed criticized repeated government promises without accountability, while Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon called the tragedy “criminal negligence.”
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