Baldia factory fire case: SHC to announce convict’s appeal on Sept 11

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) will announce its decision over appeals of five convicts against sentences in the Baldia factory fire case on September 11.

A two-member bench heard the appeals of the accused challenging their conviction in the inferno case. The bench reserved verdict on appeals last week after completion of arguments.

On September 22, 2020, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) sentenced two accused Zubair aka Chariya and Abdul Rehman aka Bhola to death for their role. Both were members of the Mutthaida Quami Movement (MQM) and set fire to the factory over non-payment of extortion.

The factory’s four watchmen – Shahrukh, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood and Ali Mohammad – were found guilty of aiding the convicts in carrying out the arson attack and them awarded life imprisonment.

The court acquitted MQM leader and former provincial commerce minister Rauf Siddiqui and three others from all charges for lack of evidence.

A bench of the high court had admitted appeals of five convicts for hearing, challenging their sentences in the factory fire case.

Coincidently, the court has fixed September 11 date for the announcement of the verdict on appeals of the convicts, the same date as the fateful incident in 2012.

On September 11, 2012, more than 260 workers were burnt alive and sixty others were injured in the multi-storey building of the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Baldia Town.

In October 2020, Bhola, a former sector in-charge of the MQM, and Charya filed separate appeals in the SHC challenging the death sentence handed down to them by the ATC.

The counsel for the appellants had argued in the appeals that the trial court’s judgement was passed without observing the principles laid down by the Supreme Court. They further stated that the trial court did not appreciate the material contradictions of the evidence produced by the prosecution.

They added that the factory workers had died due to the negligence of the factory owners and the departments concerned since there were no emergency exits in the industrial unit. They maintained that no evidence was produced before the trial court to support the allegation of extortion.

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