ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers in the Baldia Town factory fire case, setting aside the death sentences awarded to them by a trial court and later upheld by the Sindh High Court (SHC).
On 11 September 2012, more than 260 workers were burnt alive in the multi-storey building of the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Baldia Town in what was the worst industrial disaster in the country’s history.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Shahzad Malik announced the verdict after hearing appeals filed by Abdul Rehman alias Bhola and Zubair alias Chariya, allowing their petitions and giving them benefit of doubt.
The court determined that, in light of the evidence and legal issues involved in the case, the defendants were entitled to acquittal.
The bench also dismissed a petition seeking exclusion of certain judicial observations, declaring it ineffective.
The court noted that once the original judgment had been vacated, the related observations automatically ceased to have legal effect.
During the trial, the court highlighted several legal and evidentiary weaknesses in the prosecution’s case.
Questions were also raised regarding certain confessional statements and questions regarding the alleged political affiliations of some of the accused.
The court rejected further applications that sought to implead the heirs of the deceased victims as parties to the case. The court noted that allowing a large number of parties to participate in the case could unnecessarily prolong the litigation process.
Justice Malik noted that the case had become more complicated by interweaving various political and legal aspects, while Justice Shakeel Ahmad noted clear contradictions between certain statements and the available evidence.
In 2023, the SHC dismissed appeals challenging the death sentences awarded to the two MQM activists after a special Anti-Terrorism Court upheld the death sentences awarded to them.
In its 46-page judgment, the SHC said the forensic report clearly showed that the factory fire was not caused by a short circuit. It further stated that evidence and testimony confirmed that Zubair Chariya had set fire to the factory.
According to the case, Abdul Rehman was associated with MQM as a sector in-charge while Zubair was an active worker in the city municipality. Both were present at the factory when the fire broke out.
The appeals alleged that from the date of the incident till 2015, the police/factory owners did not complain or file a case for the alleged extortion.
They further pleaded that the prosecution had failed to bring a report issued by Karachi University’s Science Laboratory to establish that the fire was caused by a chemical substance.
