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			<title>Baldia tragedy: Families of deceased to sue German retailer KiK</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/835742/baldia-tragedy-families-of-deceased-to-sue-german-retailer-kik</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/835742/baldia-tragedy-families-of-deceased-to-sue-german-retailer-kik#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 15 20:35:49 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[saad.hasan]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category><category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Purchaser from Ali Enterprise accused of disregarding conditions at overseas facilities]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Last year Mohammad Ali finally bought the small house in the congested Muslim Mujahid Colony where his family had resided for year as tenants. The day the final payment was made, he sobbed.


Like any other household in this part of Karachi’s Baldia Town, located on the fringes of SITE Industrial Estate, people make ends meet by doing odd jobs or working on minimum wage in factories.

Those living on rent often miss out on monthly payments. Consequently, they are abused and threatened by the landlords on a regular basis and Ali’s case was no different.



But one day, once the landlord had left following the usual bickering, Ali’s younger 23-year-old brother Israr swore he would buy that house.

And he did, from the compensation his family received after his death at the Ali Enterprise garment factory, which was gutted in one of the worst industrial fires in September 2012.

“How can I ever thank him?” said Ali. “How can my family forget the sacrifice? How can we back out from this fight now? There is no turning away from this struggle.”

Ali was among the relatives of 250 workers killed in the factory fire who had gathered at the Pakistan Medical Association this Sunday to give their consent to start a law suit against the German discount retailer KiK, which sourced products from Ali Enterprise.

This would be the first time a German retailer is being taken to court over allegations that it didn’t care about the conditions of the overseas facilities where its products were made, lawyers say.

“The odds are against us,” said Dr Miriam Saage-Maaß, Legal Director at European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, an NGO representing the victims and their families.

“We cannot guarantee anything or even state the probability of winning this case but I have hope.”

The law suit seeks immediate compensation of Rs432,000 or $4,320 for every worker killed in the factory.

“It won’t be an easy journey. A case like this can drag on for years,” she told PMA’s jam-packed auditorium. “But we can go through this if we stand together.”

KiK, which is part of Tengelmann Group, has already given a total compensation of $1 million to the families.

Pakistan’s National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) Deputy General Secretary Nasir Mansoor said the amount translated into between Rs450,000 and Rs500,000 per household.

“But that was just an interim compensation. When the agreement was signed the company had promised a bigger package.”

By its own account KiK was the single largest purchaser from Ali Enterprise, buying 75% of the garments manufactured in Karachi – a fact that has raised hopes of the lawyers.

KiK was also one of the many international retailers doing business with factories housed in Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza building, which collapsed in April 2013 killing over 1,000 workers.

But in that case, involvement of multiple discount stores based in different countries has made legal proceedings difficult.

There is another side of the equation. In countries like Pakistan where textile remains the mainstay of the economy, employing the largest chunk of workforce, reduction in fresh orders can have far-reaching consequences.

KiK itself is scouring for new suppliers in less riskier markets.

New revelation

The recent revelation by Sindh Rangers that Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) workers set fire to Baldia factory because of a dispute over protection money could not have come at a worst time.

“Whoever may have caused that fire, the fact remains that most of the workers were burnt alive and suffocated because windows were sealed off with iron grills and there were no exits,” said Mansoor of NTUF.

“It was negligence on part of the owners of that factory and whoever was doing business with them. We won’t let this fact be lost amid this controversy.”

[embed width="625"]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2gst7h_heirs-of-baldia-factory-fire-victims-to-sue-german-retailer_news[/embed]

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th,  2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.]]>
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			<title>Heirs of Baldia factory fire victims to sue German retailer</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/835550/families-of-baldia-factory-to-sue-german-retailer</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/835550/families-of-baldia-factory-to-sue-german-retailer#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 15 16:38:52 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saad.hasan]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=835550</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The lawsuit seeks immediate compensation of Rs432,000 or $4,320 for every worker killed in the factory]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Last year, Muhammad Ali finally bought a small house in the congested Muslim Mujahid Colony where his family resided for a year as tenants. When the day final payment was made, he sobbed. To this day he cries while talking about it, perhaps because it was a parting gift from his son who had died in the Baldia factory over two years ago. Now, the families of those who died, have decided in principle to sue the German retailer who sourced products from the ill-fated factory.

Like any other household in this part of Karachi's Baldia Town, located on the fringes of Site Industrial Estate; men receive minimum wages for doing odd jobs in factories, as machine attendants in day time and driving taxis after sunset.

With this never-ending struggle to put food on the dastarkhwaan, owning a small bare-bricked house remained a luxury, especially when most of the household income is spent on medicines for old parents.

Hence, those living on rented premises often miss out on their payments. And when that happens, the landlord harasses them. Ali's case was no different.

But one day after the landlord left, following the usual bickering and threats, his 23-year-old younger brother, Israr swore he would buy the house.

And he did – from the compensation his family received after his death at the Ali Enterprise garment factory, which was gutted in the one of the worst industrial fires in September 2012.

"How can I ever thank him?" said Ali. "How can my family forget the sacrifice? How can we back out from this fight now? There is no turning away from this struggle."

Ali was among the relatives of 250 workers killed in the factory fire, who gathered at the Pakistan Medical Association on Sunday to give their consent to initiate a lawsuit against the German discount retailer KiK, which sourced products from Ali Enterprises.



PHOTO: SAAD HASAN

This would be the first time a German retailer is being taken to court over allegations that it did not care about the conditions of the overseas facilities where its products were made, lawyers say.

"Hence the odds are stacked against us," said Dr Miriam Saage-Maaß, Legal Director at European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, an NGO representing the victims and their families.

"We cannot guarantee anything or even state the probability of winning this case, but I have hope."

The lawsuit seeks immediate compensation of Rs432,000 or $4,320 for every worker killed in the factory.

This would just be a precursor to negotiations for a bigger compensation package, which takes into account not just loss of income but also the pain and suffering of the family members.

"It won't be an easy journey. A case like this can drag on for years," she told PMA's jam-packed auditorium. "But we can go through this if we stand together."

KiK, which is part of Tengelmann Group, has already given a total compensation of $1 million to the families.

Pakistan's National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) Deputy General Secretary Nasir Mansoor said the amount converted into between Rs450,000 and Rs500,000 per household.

"But that was just an interim compensation. When the agreement was signed the company had promised a bigger package."

By its own account KiK was the single largest purchaser from Ali Enterprise, buying 75% of the garments manufactured in Karachi – a fact that has raised lawyers’ hopes.

KiK was also one of the many international retailers doing business with factories housed in Bangladesh's Rana Plaza building, which collapsed in April 2013, killing over 1,000 workers.

But in that case, involvement of multiple discount stores based in different countries has made legal proceedings difficult.

There is another side of the equation. In countries like Pakistan where textile remains the backbone of the economy, employing the largest chunk of workforce and a reduction in fresh orders can have far-reaching consequences.

KiK itself is scouring for new suppliers in less riskier markets.

New revelation

The recent revelation by Sindh Rangers that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers set fire to Baldia factory because of a dispute over protection money could not have come at a worst time.

"Whoever may have caused that fire, the fact remains that most of the workers were burnt alive and suffocated because windows were sealed with iron grills and there were no exits," said Mansoor. "It was negligence on part of the owners of that factory and whoever was doing business with them. We won't let this fact be lost amid this controversy."]]>
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			<title>MQM chief wants foreign investigation into Baldia factory fire</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/834957/mqm-chief-wants-foreign-investigation-into-baldia-factory-fire</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/834957/mqm-chief-wants-foreign-investigation-into-baldia-factory-fire#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 15 01:33:53 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=834957</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Altaf Hussain says the party cannot be blamed for one man's deeds]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A day after a joint investigation team (JIT) report into the Baldia factory fire incident accused a man claiming to be a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) worker, the party's chief Altaf Hussain said that MQM cannot be blamed for an individual's alleged act and called for foreign investigation into the incident.

Addressing workers and supporters via telephone at the foundation laying ceremony for Altaf Hussain University in Hyderabad, the party chief lamented the timing for publicizing the JIT report.

“Why wasn't the JIT report released earlier?” Hussain asked.

“A party has hundreds of thousands of workers. If one man claiming to be a member commits a crime, it is his individual act. It is illegal, immoral to blame the political party.”

Pointing out past record of the Scotland Yard and United Nations being invited to probe incidents in the country, the MQM chief called for a foreign team to investigate the Baldia factory fire incident. He added that if any member of his party was found guilty by during the foreign investigation, then they should be handed severe punishments.

Terming the JIT as an acronym for “Joint Interrogation Tabloid,” he directed MQM's lawyers to take legal actions against those who had slandered the party.

Hussain said there were 'black sheep' within law enforcement and security apparatus who were responsible for numerous incidents in the past such as the murder of Benazir Bhutto, Pukka Qilla incident, and Ojhri Camp incident. He accused these 'black sheep' of spiriting away the real culprits responsible for these incidents. “Why don't the authorities see these killers? They are called JIT – Joint Interrogation Team.”

“We had postponed the ground laying celebrations for the University when Shikarpur (blast) happened. Shikarpur incident did not happen, it was orchestrated.”

The MQM chief asked who had bailed out the prime suspect, Rizwan Qureshi, after he had been apprehended.

Hussain also criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamaat-e-Islami for failing to condemn terror groups by name.]]>
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			<title>Baldia inferno: JIT accuses political party of starting fire</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/834246/baldia-inferno-jit-accuses-political-party-of-starting-fire</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/834246/baldia-inferno-jit-accuses-political-party-of-starting-fire#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 15 21:56:39 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naeem.sahoutara]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=834246</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Law enforcers submit classified report that says party was asking factory owners for Rs20m as extortion]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Rangers have placed the blame of the Baldia factory fire on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in a report submitted to the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday.


They claimed that some members of the party were linked to the deadly fire which left more than 259 men and women dead on September 11, 2012.

In the report submitted to a division bench of the SHC hearing identical petitions seeking a judicial inquiry into the incident, law enforcers claimed that they had arrested a man in connection to the industrial fire and during the interrogation he had identified himself as an MQM worker. When contacted, MQM leaders and office-bearers were unavailable for comments. On January 13, while hearing the petitions filed by the Pakistan Industrial Labour Education Research, Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum and others, the bench ordered DIG Sultan Khwaja to submit a report of the investigations. The bench also issued notices to the heads of the intelligence and law enforcement agencies to submit their report on the incident.

In response to the court's notice, the additional attorney-general Salman Salibuddin filed classified reports from the deputy assistant judge advocate general of the Pakistan Rangers, which was taken on record by the judges. This means that the report is now public property. The report claimed that the accused, Rizwan Siddiqui, son of Sheikh Iqbaluddin Qureshi, was arrested by the district South police in connection with the fire following an FIR No 61/2013 registered under Sections 23 (1)A of the Sindh Arms Act at the Artillery Maidan police station.

A joint investigation team (JIT) headed by SSP South and men from the police, Inter- Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Pakistan Rangers and the Federal Investigation Agency interrogated him on June 22, 2013.

During the interrogation, the accused claimed that a well-known party leader had demanded Rs200 million in extortion via his front man from the owners of Ali Enterprises in August 2012. Following this, the owner met the party's Baldia Town sector in-charge, Asghar Baig, and told him that someone was using the party's name to extort money.

Baig spoke to his brother, Majid, and they took the factory owners to the MQM's headquarters in Azizabad, Nine Zero. They had arranged a meeting with the in-charge of the Karachi Tanzeemi Committee (KTC), Hammad Siddiqui and Farooq Saleem, and told them that the factory owners were party supporters. They also told Hammad and Saleem about the extortion threats.

According to the report, Hammad and Saleem, claimed that the issue was not due to their demand. The suspect told the JIT that the response of the KTC's in-charge upset Baig and his brother who exchanged harsh words with Hammad and Saleem.

A few days later, according to Rizwan, Hammad suspended Baig from his position and replaced him with Rehman Bhola. The report claims that Hammad and Saleem sent Bhola to collect extortion money from the owners of Ali Enterprises on orders from a party official and former minister.

"Rehman Bhola demanded Rs20o million as extortion from the factory owners," stated the report. "When they refused on September 11, 2012, he [Bhola] and his accomplices threw a chemical substance that started the fire at the factory." The report claimed that the next day, the Crime Investigation Department raided Baig and Majid's house and left with Majid in their custody.

Baig's brother was released after the police recorded statements of the factory owners claiming that he was not involved in the incident.

Quoting the accused, the JIT report stated that after receiving orders from a high official in the party, a former minister went to the police station and registered a case against the factory owners. They had arranged for bail before arrest from the SHC but the former minister used his connections to get their bail cancelled.

It was then that a former prime minister stepped in to help the owners and got them a bail from the Lahore High Court instead. MQM leaders claimed, however, that the premier should not intervene in a provincial matter.

The report added that he [Bhola] and an unidentified member of the party took Rs150million to dispose of the case. The accused told the JIT that the information he had shared with them, he had received from the former sector in-charge of Baldia Town.



Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2015.]]>
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			<title>Members of political party behind Baldia factory fire, Rangers tell SHC</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/833969/members-of-political-party-behind-baldia-factory-fire-rangers-tells-shc</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/833969/members-of-political-party-behind-baldia-factory-fire-rangers-tells-shc#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 15 09:52:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Punjab]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=833969</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Rangers report say the fire - which killed over 250 people in 2012 - was deliberate]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Rangers on Friday afternoon submitted a report to the Sindh High Court (SHC) on the Baldia factory fire, revealing that the inferno - which killed over 250 people in 2012 - was deliberate and members of a political party were behind it, Express News reported.

Fire in Ali Enterprises - a garment factory in Baldia Town - burnt 259 people alive on September 11, 2012.

A two-member SHC bench, headed by Chief Justice Maqbool Baqir, took up the case today. The Rangers report submitted to the bench stated that a member of the accused political party admitted to setting the factory on fire along with his accomplices. The suspect was arrested by Rangers as part of the investigation into the inferno.



RELATED: SHC asks spy agencies to submit reports on Baldia factory fire



Rangers have asked SHC to keep the findings of the report secret due to the involvement of politicians in the attack.

During the hearing, the court ordered the concerned authorities to distribute cheques among the victims who haven't been given any financial support. It also asked the authorities to submit a report in one week time.]]>
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			<title>Aftermath of fire: Old habits die hard for Timber Market traders</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/826706/aftermath-of-fire-old-habits-die-hard-for-timber-market-traders</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/826706/aftermath-of-fire-old-habits-die-hard-for-timber-market-traders#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 15 21:33:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.ali]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=826706</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Nearly 250 shops burnt to the ground in a massive fire on December 28 last year]]>
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				<![CDATA[Over the blackened remains of what was once their shops, the shopkeepers of the Timber Market huddle together with anxious faces.

"Next Wednesday would mark one month of the fire incident but the government has yet to start the restoration work," complained Ishaq, who lost his 30-year-old shop in the fire. On December 28 last year, around 250 shops were destroyed in a massive fire that broke out in Timber Market at Old Haji Camp.

Unable to find work anywhere else, the men come out early morning and sit together under the open sky. They place their plastic chairs on the charred debris and heaps of ash, and sit where their shops were once earning them their livelihoods.

Government officials visited the site to mark where the new shops would be built, but apart from that, nothing concrete has been done so far. "We come here to pass our time, and see if there will be any development today," explained Ishaq, who not only lost his livelihood but his goods worth Rs500,000. "They [the authorities] say it will take three months to rebuild but when will they start work?"

The men become grim-faced when they talk about the fire. Shopkeeper Mehmoodul Hasan said that none of them imagined they will lose everything in one day. So far, the Rs100,000 compensation that the government paid them has been helping them. "Once that money finishes, what will happen?" he wondered.

Apart from the shops, several people lost their homes as well. These residents also hang around the remains of their abode, hoping the work will start soon. Three women who lived in separate portions of a three-room house are now forced to manage in a single room. There is only one kitchen where they cook. "I go to my sister's house to sleep," said Sakina, adding that she lost all the appliances and furniture in the fire.

Another resident, Nasir, showed the cracks on his kitchen walls caused by the fire. A bathroom and a room were completely destroyed in the fire. "What if this falls down?" he feared. "I have two small children."

The shopkeepers hope that the Karachi Chamber of Commerce will keep supporting them during the rebuilding and restoration phase. "We don't have much hope in the government but we want the chamber to continue raising the issue," said an elderly shopkeeper Abdul Kareem Soomro. "They took responsibility of the Boulton Market and it was rebuilt."

The fire incident has, however, made the shopkeepers realise the importance of installing fire extinguishers and equipment in the markets. "That day people were running here, and had no idea what to do," said Soomro.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2015.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire: Families demand PM fulfil his promise</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/801980/baldia-factory-fire-families-demand-pm-fulfil-his-promise</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/801980/baldia-factory-fire-families-demand-pm-fulfil-his-promise#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 14 22:16:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=801980</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Lawyer says Rs125m have been deposited and families will be compensated in a week]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Families of the victims of Baldia factory fire have warned that they will take to the streets, if they are not provided with their due compensation.

A rally will be carried out at Regal Chowk on December 14 against the unfulfilled promises made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and a real estate tycoon, said Nasir Mansoor, the deputy general secretary of National Trade Union Federation (NTUF).

“Nawaz Sharif, when he was in the opposition, had announced Rs0.3million as financial aid to those affected by the tragic fire on behalf of the Punjab government,” he said, while speaking at a meeting of NTUF and Association of Affectees of Baldia Tragedy on Thursday at Pakistan Medical Association House. “So far, we have received nothing.”



He added that 110 families were still waiting for compensation as promised by a real estate tycoon and letters were written to him repeatedly but all in vain.

While talking about the working conditions of labourers, he said that nothing had improved despite people having witnessed one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the country.

“Pakistan was granted a GSP plus status by the European Union in January this year,” he said. “With this agreement, the Pakistani government and industrialists have agreed upon ensuring working conditions as set by the International Labour Organisation.”

He added that nothing could be improved as the authorities, employers and buyers were not bothered about labourers.

He claimed that they were preparing to go to a foreign court against the Italian company, RINA Group, provided the social audit certificate to Ali Enterprises - the factory where the incident took place on September 11, 2012.

The lawyer representing the victims and their families, Faisal Siddiqi, said that a compensation of Rs125million was deposited with the Nazir of the Sindh High Court and Rs0.5million per affected family would be paid out within the next two weeks. He added that negotiations with the German company, KIK, the factory’s main customer, had also been successful and a compensation of additional 0.5million per family was expected by the end of next year.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2014.

 ]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire: SHC snubs forensics chief over failure to identify bodies</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/777634/baldia-factory-fire-shc-snubs-forensics-chief-over-failure-to-identify-bodies</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/777634/baldia-factory-fire-shc-snubs-forensics-chief-over-failure-to-identify-bodies#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 Oct 14 23:37:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=777634</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The laboratory has failed to ascertain identity of victims even after passage of two years]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Sindh High Court (SHC) judges reprimanded the project director of the National Forensic Science Laboratory (NFSL) over his failure to determine the identity of the factory workers, who had perished in the Baldia Factory inferno in September 2012.


Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar, who headed the bench on Friday, gave one month's time to the laboratory's project director to submit reports on DNA samples.

The bench was hearing a contempt application filed by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research over failure of the various departments and agencies to compensate the victims' families.

On the last date of hearing, the judges had directed the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) chairperson to make sure that statutory compensation was paid to the family of each deceased worker.

They were informed on Friday that the court's directive has not yet been complied with.

Taking notice of such behaviour, the two judges ordered the EOBI chairperson to ensure payment of statutory pension to the families of all 259 workers at the earliest and submit a compliance report by October 28.

The court also issued notices to the secretary of the workers welfare and human resource departments to personally appear on October 28 and explain the status of payment of monetary compensation to the families of the victims as well as the survivors.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19th, 2014.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire: amid investigation charge-sheet delays</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/760676/the-case-goes-on-amid-investigation-charge-sheet-delays</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/760676/the-case-goes-on-amid-investigation-charge-sheet-delays#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 14 23:15:39 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naeem.sahoutara]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=760676</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The factory owner and his sons, the general manager and some gatekeepers were booked in the case.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Marking its second anniversary, the trial of the Baldia factory inferno has yet to kick-start after the lapse of two years - a negation of the national judicial policy, which was meant for the swift dispensation of justice to the masses, lawyers say.


The deadly fire in the garments factory took the lives of 259 workers, some of the victims’ bodies still remain unidentified, on September 11, 2012.

The factory owner, Abdul Aziz Bhaila with his two sons - Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila - general manager Mansoor and some gatekeepers were booked in the case. Later, on the directives of a magistrate, the then managing director of SITE Abdul Rasheed Solangi, the labour department director Zahid Gulzar Shaikh, the additional controller of civil defence Ghulam Akbar and the chief inspector (electrical) Amjad Ali were also named in the case for their alleged negligence.



All of them later obtained bail from the courts. But, the fate of the case still remains undecided.

The case has reached the stage of indictment of the suspects, but the copies of evidence have not been supplied to them as required under Section 265-C of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), said Advocate Salahuddin Panhwar, a lawyer pursuing the case on behalf of the workers welfare organisation.

“Unless the copies are supplied the trial cannot be initiated, but the investigation is deliberately not completing this process which is why the trial has yet to formally start,” he said.

The case was fixed before additional district and sessions judge (West) Naushaba Kazi last week for supply of the remaining documents, but it was adjourned till September 27, since the judge was on leave.



Unintentional murder

The investigating officer had twice charge-sheeted the owners and others in interim and final charge-sheets under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 322 (qatl-bis-sabab) and other sections of the Pakistan Penal Code. But in the supplementary charge-sheet, which he filed afterwards the IO had shown the four officials innocent. The Section 302 of the PPC against other suspects was also removed.

“Under the national judicial policy all criminal cases punishable with imprisonment from seven years and including death cases shall be decided within a period of one year,” said advocate Panhwar.

“The trial of the Baldia factory fire is still being conducted under Section 203 of the PPC as the court has not accepted removal of this section, which means the case is to be completed within one year. But, no progress in the case amounts to a violation of the national judicial policy,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2014.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire: Two years on, victims’ families struggle to come  to terms with their loss</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/760669/baldia-factory-fire-two-years-on-victims-families-struggle-to-come-to-terms-with-their-loss</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/760669/baldia-factory-fire-two-years-on-victims-families-struggle-to-come-to-terms-with-their-loss#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 14 22:37:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sohail.khattak]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=760669</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The families are filing a suit against the Germany-based company who was the main client of Ali Enterprises.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Sixty-four-year-old Muhammad Jameel Faridi, a resident of Surjani Town, has no one to share the grief of his only son's tragic death. His wife, Nishat Fatima, the only person close to him, refuses to believe their son is gone forever.


The couple will be observing the second death anniversary of their son, Mohammad Danish Jameel Faridi, who was 34 at the time of his death, on the 11th of this month. Their plight is similar to the families of the 259 young boys and girls who were killed in the inferno at Ali Enterprises in Baldia Town on September 11, 2012.

"We have not talked about the tragic incident since that day," says Faridi. "She doesn't want to talk about it because she thinks he is alive and will come back home someday."

Fatima refuses to believe her son is gone because they did not see his body. Their son was one of the 17 indiscernible bodies who were buried unidentified, even after the DNA verification tests.

"I lost everything that day," he says. "Now I want to save other youngsters from meeting the same fate." For now, Faridi has rented a portion of the house he had bought with the compensation he received for his son's death. The rent and his son's monthly pension of Rs4,200 now supports the old couple.

What Faridi wants is for all factories to adopt international standards of fire safety. He, along with the other victims' families, believe that the Germany-based textile company, KIK, the main buyer of Ali Enterprises, and the Italian certification company, RINA, which had issued the SA8000 certificate to the garment factory, should also be held responsible for the tragedy.

Two Germany-based non-governmental organisations, Medico International (MI) and the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), are helping the affected families file a case against the KIK in German courts. Some of the victims' families recently met representatives of the two organisations at the Mehran Hotel in Karachi to discuss the case and their role in the proceedings.

Three members from the affected families are filing a suit against the KIK, while the MI and ECCHR have arranged a lawyer for the case in Germany. The National Trade Union Federation of Pakistan (NTUFP) is looking after the case requirements in Pakistan.

"We are working for justice and for the protection of human rights," said Dr Thomas Seibert, the South Asia projects coordinator for MI.

Seibert, who is a political activist working for the protection of human rights, claims to have witnessed the suffering of the garment factories workers. He feels that German companies who buy products from these factories should be held accountable for the workers' suffering.  "Germans wear clothes that have been manufactured in Pakistan and Bangladesh but the clothes are impregnated with the blood of these workers," he said, explaining the reason behind their visit and interest in the case.

He says that German consumers can force manufacturers in Pakistan to improve their standards and adopt maximum safety measures in their workplaces. The two NGOs want the KIK to compensate the affected families of the Ali Enterprisers. "I don't believe the KIK was unaware of the working conditions in Ali Enterprisers," he says. "These companies always absolve themselves of responsibility because they have contractors and sub-contractors, but all of them are part of the system."

According to Seibert, the KIK is refusing to take responsibility and is delaying the negotiation process for the compensation for affected families, which it had promised earlier.

Dr Carolijn Terwindt, the legal advisor for the ECCHR, hopes the case will set a good precedent as it will be the first time in the history of Europe that workers from another country will be taking a company to court in Germany.

"Our case is very strong and so are our legal arguments," she said. "The courts will be compelled to listen to us."

According to Terwindt, the court will have to acknowledge the impact of the global economy that has emerged in the last century due to which the companies have outsourced their inventories. "KIK can outsource its manufacturing but it must accept the responsibilities that come with the outsourcing."

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2014.]]>
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			<title>‘Compensation should equal the price of what the workers produced’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/579359/compensation-should-equal-the-price-of-what-the-workers-produced</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/579359/compensation-should-equal-the-price-of-what-the-workers-produced#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Jul 13 21:47:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=579359</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Companies have put in a system in which the profits go directly to their pockets at the cost of their workers’ lives.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The survivors of the Baldia factory fire and the families of the victims have accepted whatever compensation they have received from the federal and provincial governments, the Bhaila brothers and the $1 million contributed by KIK Texilion, one of the major buyers of the products produced at Ali Enterprises until it was gutted.


A commission constituted by the Sindh High Court on the request of the German KIK Texilion has almost disbursed all of the compensation money among the claimants, confirmed the commission’s registrar. The European lawyers’ groups is, however, not satisfied with the amount of money being offered to the survivors and the victims’ legal heirs. “It is not fair that they pay the wrongs with peanuts,” said Marco Bona.

They say that the only purpose of taking Rina to the Italian courts is get the victims’ families a handsome amount in compensation, which is at least in proportion to the value of the products produced by the deceased workers in the European market.

“Since the workers were making products for a company registered in Europe and it earned money by selling them in Europe, then why should the compensation be less than this value?” argued Stefano Bertone.

A number of companies, based in the developed countries, are largely getting their products made in Pakistan but this group of lawyers believe they don’t care about safety. They have put in a system in which the profits go directly to their pockets at the cost of their workers’ lives, argued one.

“It’s time to touch their wallets,” claimed Stefano. “Why should the victims in Pakistan get a different treatment than what the Italian workers might have received under the Italian laws?”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>European lawyers fight for Baldia fire compensation</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/579358/worst-industrial-disaster-european-lawyers-fight-for-baldia-fire-compensation</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/579358/worst-industrial-disaster-european-lawyers-fight-for-baldia-fire-compensation#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Jul 13 19:54:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rizwan.shehzad]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=579358</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Legion of foreign lawyers aim to sue RINA Services in an international court.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As the bereaved families of the Baldia factory fire lose hope of getting justice for losing over 250 relatives in the country’s worst industrial disaster, the legal eagles of Italy, France and Spain are eyeing the international certifying body to determine its role in the tragedy.


The legion of lawyers - Stefano Bertone, Marco Bona, Jean-Pierre Bellecave and Carlos Villacorta - who have successfully won compensation for the survivors of at least 40 aviation disasters, plan to sue an Italy-based firm, Rina Services, which had declared that the international standards for workers were enforced at Ali Enterprises.

In August 2012, Rina Services had certified Ali Enterprises and the factory under the SA-8000 standard after an audit, which started on June 22, that year and was completed by July 5. A 10-member team spent the same number of days on the site and issued a certificate on August 20.

Twenty-one days later, a massive fire swept through the double-storey building of the garment factory, killing at least 259 workers in Baldia industrial area on September 11. “We don’t know what ignited the fire…but we understand that it was a cage not a place of work,” claimed Bertone, an Italian lawyer, during a visit to Karachi. “The Baldia factory looked like a cage made with cement and iron.”



The legion has already filed a case against Rina to obtain compensation for the families of the 1,000 people who lost their lives when the alSalam Boccaccio 98 sank in the Red Sea in 2006. Now, they plan to take Rina to the Italian court to fight the case for compensation to the Baldia factory workers. The lawyers spent five days in the city during which they visited the gutted factory from outside, met the survivors and bereaved families of deceased workers, as well as, the lawyers waging a legal battle against the factory owners and the government functionaries in Pakistan.

“Had Rina Services - which was supposed to get the laws on workers’ safety strictly implemented - not certified the factory, it wouldn’t have been able to operate anymore and the lives of 259 workers could have been saved,” Bertone added. The aim of the litigation is to get compensation for the heirs of the victims through a civil suit under the same standards as applicable to European victims of industrial tragedies, he added. The group will initiate the case in collaboration with local trade unions and workers rights groups, such as the National Trades Union Federation and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research. “We are all citizens of the world and we believe in the right of equality without any difference in terms of borders, nationalities and wealth,” he explained.

Moreover, Bellecave believed that the certification delivered by Rina favoured the disaster, adding that the certification was a guarantee that the safety conditions were met. “Here, the process of certification led to the exact opposite result,” he said. “For this, Rina is probably the most important liable of the case.”

Following the incident, Karachi police had booked the factory owner, Abdul Aziz Bhaila, and his sons, Arshad and Shahid, under murder and criminal negligence charges, which were later dropped. This benefited the factory owners, who were later bailed out by the Sindh High Court.

“I’m strongly against death penalty but if 275 people die you have to prosecute those who you believe are liable for homicide, even if it is involuntary,” said Bertone. The Express Tribune tried to get in touch with Rina Services to know their stance on the issue but it failed to receive any response.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire: Commission distributing compensation still waiting on funds</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/562440/baldia-factory-fire-commission-distributing-compensation-still-waiting-on-funds</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/562440/baldia-factory-fire-commission-distributing-compensation-still-waiting-on-funds#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 12 Jun 13 19:34:17 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=562440</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[SHC issues notice to authorities to file comments by June 17.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Despite its promises, the Sindh government has not released funds to the commission constituted by the court to disburse monetary compensation among the families of the Baldia factory fire.

The Sindh High Court, after learning about the delay in funds, issued notice to the relevant provincial government’s authorities and advocate general on Wednesday to explain why the government has not released funds despite an undertaking given before the court.

At least 259 workers were burnt alive in one of the country’s worst industrial disasters when fire broke out in the Ali Enterprises factory on September 9, 2012.

After multiple human rights advocacy groups approached the high court for a judicial inquiry into the disaster, the federal and provincial governments pledged to give monetary compensation to the victim families.



A German firm, KIK Textiles, which was among the largest buyers of the readymade garments produced at the ill-fated Ali Enterprises, had also announced to provide financial assistance worth $1 million for the families of the deceased. The firm, however, had requested the court to constitute a commission to be headed by a retired judge for disbursement of the compensation amount in a fair and transparent manner.

“On January 29, the court had constituted a commission for distributing the money but the Sindh government has yet to release funds for the commission, including the commissioner’s fee,” the judges were informed on Wednesday.

“The families of the victims will continue to suffer till the money is distributed,” apprehended lawyer Muhammad Wavda, pleading to the court to direct the provincial chief secretary to release the budget of the commission, including the fee of the commissioner, within two weeks.

The bench headed by Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh, after hearing arguments, issued notice to the relevant authorities in the provincial government and advocate general to file comments by June 17.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire case: SHC gives one week to identify charred bodies</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/519876/baldia-factory-fire-case-shc-gives-one-week-to-identify-charred-bodies</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/519876/baldia-factory-fire-case-shc-gives-one-week-to-identify-charred-bodies#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 12 Mar 13 20:50:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=519876</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[While the bodies were buried in February, their identities have yet to be confirmed.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Sindh High Court has yet again ordered the National Forensic Science Agency and others concerned to submit a report regarding the identities of the seventeen workers of the Baldia garments factory, whose bodies were charred beyond recognition in the fire.


Nearly 259 workers were burnt in the country’s worst industrial disaster, when a huge fire reduced the Ali Enterprises to ashes on September 11, 2012. As the repeated DNA tests failed to determine the identities of the victims, the bereaved families had gone to court seeking permission for mass burial.

The judges on February 20 allowed the bereaved families to perform last rites and bury the seventeen unidentified bodies to end the mental torture and agony the families had been going through for the past six months.

Meanwhile, the laboratory’s project director was directed to expedite DNA matching process by drawing fresh samples and submit report by March 11. On Tuesday, the advocate general Abdul Fattah Malik said that while the unidentified bodies were buried following permission granted by the court, none of the relatives of the victims had come forward to pursue DNA testing, thus their identification has yet to be determined.

Regarding compensation, Malik informed the judges that a commission tasked to disburse compensation among the victims’ families had already been constituted and was working in this regard.

Justice Maqbool Baqir, who headed the bench, directed all concerned to complete DNA matching process and submit report within one week.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Deadline extended: Baldia applications will be received till March 9</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/516222/deadline-extended-baldia-applications-will-be-received-till-march-9</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/516222/deadline-extended-baldia-applications-will-be-received-till-march-9#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 05 Mar 13 21:24:54 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=516222</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Compensation commission, formed by Sindh High Court to distribute money pledged by government, extends deadline.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The compensation commission has extended the last date by which relatives of Baldia factory fire victims can file for claims till March 9.


The commission, which had been formed by Sindh High Court on January 29 to distribute the money pledged by the government and a foreign firm among the families of the victims, had initially set March 5 as the deadline for submission of compensation claims.

“The commission has decided to extend the deadline because they have only received 80 applications so far,” explained an official from the organisation.

Around 259 people passed away in the fire which reduced Ali Enterprises to ashes on September 11, 2012. The fire was termed the worst industrial incident in the history of the country and several international suppliers of the company pledged support for the families and survivors. The unidentified victims were recently buried.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Last rites: Court allows Baldia fire bodies to be buried</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/510106/last-rites-court-allows-baldia-fire-bodies-to-be-buried</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/510106/last-rites-court-allows-baldia-fire-bodies-to-be-buried#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 20 Feb 13 21:27:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naeem.sahoutara]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=510106</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Judges tell forensic experts to complete the DNA process in 20 days.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday finally allowed the burial of 18 unidentified bodies of the Baldia factory fire victims, but ordered the national forensic science laboratory’s project director to complete DNA matching process within 20 days.

Nearly 259 workers were burnt in the country’s worst industrial disaster, when a huge fire reduced the Ali Enterprises to ashes on September 11, 2012. Many bodies were charred beyond recognition.

As the repeated DNA tests failed to determine the identities of all the victims, the bereaved families went to court seeking permission for mass burial.

“Six months have passed, but the officials have failed to establish the identities of our loved ones despite the fact that DNA samples have been obtained at least thrice,” they told the judges on Wednesday.



The relatives of 21 workers, who are believed to have been killed in the fire, had approached the SHC last week seeking permission for burial. “The bodies have been rotting for nearly seven months. What else is there left to do,” asked a parent of one of the victims.

On January 29, the court had directed the additional DIG, Iqbal Mehmood, to look after the identification process, as the matter had not been resolved despite earlier orders of the court.

The court had also directed the national forensics science agency to depute some competent officer or doctor along with technicians and equipments to examine these bodies within four days.

Taking strong exception to the delays, the irate judges on February 15 had personally summoned the additional DIG Karachi and the forensic laboratory’s chief.

On Wednesday both the officers appeared. The laboratory’s project director informed that fresh DNA samples of the families would be obtained within two days in another attempt to identify the victims. He sought time to complete the DNA matching process and submit a report.



With the consent of all the relevant parties, the bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar, allowed the burial of the unidentified bodies within two days.
The deputy commissioner of district West and the police superintendent of SITE town were directed to supervise the burial process. The judges directed them to bury each body separately and mark it differently. The national forensic science laboratory’s project director has been asked to submit his report by March 12.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire: SHC says no to mass burial</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/507846/baldia-factory-fire-shc-says-no-to-mass-burial</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/507846/baldia-factory-fire-shc-says-no-to-mass-burial#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 15 Feb 13 16:05:23 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naeem.sahoutara]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=507846</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Forensic lab chief summoned for Feb 20.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Declining a plea to allow mass burial of the unidentified victims of the Baldia factory fire, the Sindh High Court has summoned the project director of the National Forensic Science Agency to appear personally and explain delays in identifying the bodies on February 20.

“We find it hard to express ourselves,” remarked Justice Maqbool Baqir, who headed the bench while hearing a petition seeking a judicial probe into the worst industrial disaster in which at least 259 workers were killed on September 11, 2012.

The relatives of 21 workers, who are believed to have been killed in fire but whose charred bodies remain unidentified, had gone to court.

Khurram Ahmed, representing one of the bereaved families, requested the judges to direct the authorities to hand over the unidentified bodies to the families for a “collective burial”.

The two judges declined the request. “We have been told that 17 bodies of the victims have still not been identified.”

“We, therefore, find it difficult to order handing over the bodies as the legal heirs of other victims may not agree to such an order,” they added.

On January 29, the additional DIG of Karachi was directed by the court to look after the identification. NFSA’s project director was also told to depute a competent officer or doctor along with an adequate number of the technicians and equipment to Karachi within four days.

On Friday, the investigation officer, Inspector Jehanzeb, told the judges that a request was made to the forensic agency's project director to either visit Karachi or depute an officer. But, he had said he was unable to come to Karachi as the secretary did not allow it.

The bench directed the forensic agency's project director and Additional DIG Karachi to appear in person on February 20 along with reports on what they had done to comply with the court order.

The forensic agency's director should be accompanied with doctors and forensic experts so that they may assist court on the possibility of identifying the victims, it said.

Meanwhile, the court was informed that a German firm, which was among the buyers of the readymade garments produced by the ill-fated factory, had deposited $1 million in compensation money with the SHC's nazir.]]>
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			<title>Families urge court to allow mass burial of 21 unidentified bodies</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/507425/families-urge-court-to-allow-mass-burial-of-21-unidentified-bodies</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/507425/families-urge-court-to-allow-mass-burial-of-21-unidentified-bodies#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 14 Feb 13 21:29:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=507425</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[DNA tests have not been helpful.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As the police drop key murder charges against the owners of the Baldia factory and modern technology fails to determine the identity of 21 victims even though five months have passed, their relatives have finally agreed on a mass burial.

The families of 21 labourers whose bodies were charred beyond recognition in the country’s worst industrial fire have sought an order from the court to carry out the last rites of their loved ones.

The families presented a request for permission for mass burial to the Sindh High Court. The court is already hearing identical petitions for a judicial inquiry into the tragic incident.

According to the official record, 259 workers were burnt alive when the ISO-certified Ali Enterprises in Baldia town caught fire on September 11, 2012. Nearly 21 bodies remain unidentified as the DNA tests have failed. The court has given repeated orders for the authorities to expedite the process.



The families handed over to the court a list of names of unidentified victims: Sharjeel Ahmed, Ubaidullah, Mohammad Akmal, Mehmood Shah, Riaz Ahmed, Samina Javed, Sohail, Rubab Sumaira, Waqar Ahmed, Mohammad Waseem, Adil Khan, Kamaluddin, Saeed Munawar, Asif Aziz, Rafiqun Nisa, Mohammad Tufail, Danish, Shamsul Islam and Mohammad Javed.

We have yet to offer their funeral prayers and bury them, they added.

The Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan are among those who went to court seeking a judicial inquiry into the fire to affix responsibility and suggest monetary compensation for the heirs.

This week, two of the three factory owners - Arshad Abdul Aziz Bhaila and his brother Shahid Abdul Aziz Bhaila - were granted bail along with two employees. The trial court has yet to decide the fate of the investigator’s recommendation to exclude the premeditated murder charge against the Bhaila brothers, their father Abdul Aziz Bhaila, and their employees.

On Wednesday, Justice Maqbool Baqar, while heading the bench, issued notices to the Advocate General of Sindh, the factory owners, various human rights organizations and others to file their replies by February 15.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory owners get bail</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/506084/baldia-factory-owners-get-bail</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/506084/baldia-factory-owners-get-bail#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 12 Feb 13 04:44:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naeem.sahoutara]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=506084</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Police recommend dropping murder charges.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The owners of a garment factory, where over 250 people were killed in Pakistan’s worst industrial fire last year, have been released on bail, and the police have recommended dropping the key charges of murder against them.


The Sindh High Court (SHC) heard on Monday a request seeking the release of the accused men in the Baldia factory fire case – owners and brothers, Shahid Abdul Aziz Bhaila and Arshad Abdul Aziz Bhaila, factory manager Mohammad Mansoor and watchman Arshad Mehmood.

Arshad and Shahid will be released on bail for one million rupees each and a personal recognisance bond whose amount has to be agreed on by the trial court, the court stated. Mansoor and Mehmood have also been awarded bail for Rs200,000 each.

As many 259 workers were burnt alive when Ali Enterprises located in Baldia Town caught fire on September 11, 2012.

A case was registered against factory owner Abdul Aziz Bhaila, his sons Shahid and Arshad, their employees Mohammad Mansoor and Arshad Mehmood under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 322 (manslaughter), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy a house), 337 (Shajjah), and 34 (common intent) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Site-B police station.



The Bhaila brothers had approached the Sindh High Court after their bails were dismissed by the Additional District Judge West on October 6, 2012.

The police investigating the case have recommended removing the murder charge. However, the court has yet to decide the matter.

Murder charges

The prosecution had affixed responsibility for the deaths on the owners of the factory, alleging that they had failed to adopt and enforce safety measures at the three-storey building, which had no emergency exits and had iron grilles on the windows.

But defence lawyer Amir Raza Naqvi contended that the allegations did not fall under Section 302 for pre-meditated murder.

He pointed out that the last charge sheet filed by the investigating officer before the trial court was for offences under Sections 322, 337 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Investigation officer Sub-Inspector Jahanzeb stated before the judge that he had thoroughly investigated the matter and was of the opinion that the case falls under Sections 322, 337 and 34 PPC; therefore, he had “no objection, if the applicants were released on bail”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Improperly framed FIR backfires</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/505973/improperly-framed-fir-backfires</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/505973/improperly-framed-fir-backfires#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 13 21:20:10 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Omar Sial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=505973</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[How did the owners of Ali Enterprise get away with clean chits after their inspections under the Factories Act?]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[In Pakistan today hardly any perpetrators of crime have been caught or convicted. The criminal negligence of the owners and authorities alike is highlighted by the horrible incident at Ali Enterprises - the textile factory which was burnt to ashes on September 11, 2012 in Baldia Town. Over 289 people died.


The Sindh police was at its incompetent best while registering an FIR. It charged the owners of the factory with both intentional and unintentional murder. It also charged the owners with burning down their own factory and causing hurt to the head and shoulders of the people. In simpler words, the police registered a case that accused the owners of premeditated and intentional murder of some of its employees whereas other employees were murdered by the owners unintentionally. The police also thought that the owners were crazy enough to burn down their only means of livelihood without any motive.

After weeks of investigation, the police proceeded to file a report in court that maintained the charges against the accused. At this juncture, the prime minister thought that he too should jump into the picture.



Upon receiving newfound enlightenment from the very capable prime minister, the police all of a sudden came to the conclusion that the accused did not intentionally murder their own employees. Accordingly, they have recommended the charge of intentional murder be dropped.

The blunders of the police - some deliberate, others not so deliberate - led to their natural consequence and the Sindh High Court enlarged the accused on bail yesterday. If the same trend of incompetence in prosecution is followed, it will not be a surprise that the accused will also subsequently be acquitted. A total of 289 people died but the State does not have even the vaguest of clues as to who is responsible for this tragedy. If history is anything to go by, the fire at Ali Enterprises will be another case in which the government of the day will not look towards the evils within its own departments but will say that it is the judiciary that acquitted the accused.

The case of Ali Enterprises also exposes the faults in the police’s investigation system. The police continue to be a tool in the hands of rulers who have repeatedly used this organization for the purpose of political oppression and State-sponsored terrorism.

A judge can only give a verdict on the evidence that is before him or her. If the investigating agencies do not do their job properly and present half-baked and contradictory evidence to a judge what else will that judge do but give the benefit of the blunders of the investigating agencies to the accused? Bail has to be granted when the evidence on record suggests that it is a case of further inquiry.

The case of Ali Enterprises also exposes how easy it is for the rich and influential to circumvent and ignore the law. A civilized and equitable society implements its laws without fear or favour. Yet, there is very little debate in our country on why the legislation that governs factories was not complied with.

How did the owners of Ali Enterprise get away with clean chits after their inspections under the Factories Act? Was it that the rich exploited the poor workers of the factory in league with the government - an exploitation which ultimately led to their deaths?

Omar Sial is a lawyer, political activist, teacher, child rights activist

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Seeking redemption: Baldia owners offer groceries in exchange for loyalty</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/505970/seeking-redemption-baldia-owners-offer-groceries-in-exchange-for-loyalty</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/505970/seeking-redemption-baldia-owners-offer-groceries-in-exchange-for-loyalty#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 13 20:54:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.ali]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=505970</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Owners’ lawyer insists they have been providing rations since day one.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[On Monday afternoon at a godown in Baldia, Nazia, who lost her husband in the Ali Enterprises inferno, was handed a white envelope of Rs 5,000. The mother of four was told to come back again on the 16th of this month and collect her ration she ‘deserved’. In return, she was told to keep her mouth shut and not to speak ill against the factory owners.


Such pressure tactics being carried by the officials of the gutted factory, Ali Enterprises is likely to increase after the bail of all the men accused in the Baldia fire incident, claim activists.

Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) executive director Karamat Ali told The Express Tribune that the owners and managers of Ali Enterprises, the factory in which hundreds of people lost their lives, have been intimidating the witnesses and the workers for a while. The purpose of these threats is to pressurise people into agreeing to drop murder charges against the owners.

“Even from inside the jail, the Bhaila brothers had been giving directions to their men to threaten the people to move back from the case,” said Ali. “Now that they are out of prison, we expect an increase in their dirty activities.”



Meanwhile, the lawyer representing the owners, Amir Raza Naqvi, insisted that the company has been providing groceries and medicines to the families since day one. “We understand that these families are poor so we have been helping them out on a humanitarian basis,” he told The Express Tribune. Denying that these were pressure tactics, Naqvi explained that they took it upon themselves to help these poor because the government had failed to do so.

Last September, more than 250 workers had died in a massive inferno that engulfed a factory in Baldia. Termed as the country’s worst fire disaster, social activists had joined hands with the affected families to help them raise their voice over the missing bodies and the delayed compensation payments.

However, activists now see a change in heart in some of the affected families as the owners are using pressure tactics. While some families have been threatened on the phone and paid visits by factory managers, others have been presented groceries and offered money to keep their mouths shut.

“The poor and weak status of the affected families is being abused by the powerful and influential owners. They are taking advantage of their situation and forcing people to dislodge themselves from the case,” said trade unionist Nasir Mansoor.

He said that the managers were operating from a godown near the burned factory. “The people are being called to their office and told to sign documents. God knows what those documents are.” He was worried that these illiterate people may be fooled into signing pardons.

Shahida, who lost her husband Akmal, said that within the past one month, she has received Rs10,000 and a month’s ration from the factory authorities. Even then, she was saddened by the news of the owners’ bails. “I am sad because it is the owners’ fault that my husband died, but if the seth [owner] bears the responsibility of my children, I will forgive them.”

Meanwhile, there are some families who claim they are not interested in what happens to the owners as they are still caught up in identifying the missing bodies. Azmat, a resident of Baldia, who lost his four daughters and a son, said that they are surviving on debts. “Poor people can’t do anything. Even if the owners are set free, we can’t do anything about it.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire: SHC grants bail to all accused</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/505684/baldia-factory-fire-shc-grants-bail-to-all-accused</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/505684/baldia-factory-fire-shc-grants-bail-to-all-accused#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 13 06:29:39 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=505684</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Factory owners Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila will have to submit surety bonds worth Rs1 million.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[All accused in the Baldia factory fire case, including the factory owners, were awarded bail by the Sindh High Court on Monday, reported Express News.

Justice Ghulam Sarwar Korai of SHC ordered the release of all the accused who were earlier arrested in the case. Factory owners Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila will have to submit surety bonds worth Rs1 million, while the other accused will submit bonds worth Rs200,000.

The Bhaila brothers own Ali Enterprises, the garment factory in Karachi that caught fire on September 11 last year and resulted in the deaths of over 250 workers.

The police arrested Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila after a sessions court rejected their pre-arrest bail applications on October 6, 2012. Their ailing father, Abdul Aziz Bhaila, was granted bail due to old age. The case was registered under sections related to murder against the factory owners, its general manager, security guards and some government officials over negligence.

Last month, the prime minister faced a lot of criticism after he ordered murder charges against the owners to be dropped.

Tired of waiting for the remains of their loved ones to be identified, families of the Baldia fire victims had also agreed to the government’s proposal to hold a mass burial for charred corpses that are lying at Edhi morgue.]]>
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			<title>In remembrance: Country’s worst industrial disaster comes alive through art</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/505060/in-remembrance-countrys-worst-industrial-disaster-comes-alive-through-art</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/505060/in-remembrance-countrys-worst-industrial-disaster-comes-alive-through-art#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 09 Feb 13 21:26:52 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.ali]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=505060</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The artists tried to put themselves in the shoes of the workers who lost their lives in the fire.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[In a city where tragedy strikes nearly every day, the Baldia factory fire that killed over 250 people remains etched in every resident’s memory.


To show just how tragic the industrial disaster was, a bunch of students decided to immortalise the tragedy through art. On Friday evening, the exhibition ‘Awaaz’ opened at the Arts Council, where people saw the imaginations of around 83 artists on sculptures, portraits, video and sound installations.

As soon as you enter the hall, you will see Seher Naveed’s ‘Emergency Exist’, a red and black light box built digitally and illuminated by three tube lights. Explaining the concept behind it, Naveed, who teaches at the Indus Valley School (IVS) of art and architecture, said that her work shows symbols of a person as depicted on emergency signs. “The direction signs are missing because I wanted to show how the factory workers must have felt in a chaotic situation without any exit.”

Adeela Suleman, the organiser and an IVS faculty member, said that the purpose of the exhibition was to show how artists are sensitive to tragedies that take place around us. “We will keep our Awaaz alive until justice is served to the affected families. We won’t let anyone forget what happened to all those people.”



Some artists were so shaken up by the country’s worst fire disaster that they wanted to feel the heat of the incident. Falak Noor, a graduate of the Karachi School of Arts used hot red and white wax to make a facial sculpture of a man whose mouth was wide open, screaming for help. “Every time my hands would feel a burning sensation, I would realise the pain the people must have felt burning in the fire.”

Printmaker Nurayah Sheikh worked with architect Arshad on a dangerous piece that involved acid and metal to make a copper bowl. The outside shiny surface depicted how gleaming things are produced while the inner black surface hinted at the poor working conditions, she explained. The piece was mounted on top of a surface that had Ghalib’s verse: ‘Aah koh chahiyah aik umer asar honay tak’ printed all over it. For Sheikh this verse stated the gist of the incident.

Admiring her work, Naz Akramullah, an artist by profession said the exhibition was very moving. “The works were not hastily done and shows that the artist have put their hearts into it.”

One end of the hall was covered by 259 black-and-white portraits of random people - from tandoor walas to bus conductors - taken by an IVS teacher, Muzzumil Ruheel. “Though they are not the victims, they represent the victims. It could have been anyone of them,” said Ruheel.



Before the art exhibition was inaugurated, social activists and artists spoke about the Baldia fire. Singer Jawad Ahmad hummed ‘Han Main Hee Pakistan Hoon’ [Yes, I am Pakistan] before showing the video of this song that he made especially for the fire victims. When he sang ‘Sun Lo Kay Hum Mazdoor Hain’ [Hark, we are the labourers] which was dedicated to all the workers of the world, the audience struggled to fight back tears.

Nazia, who lost her husband in the fire, appreciated that so many people are showing them support. “Our pain becomes less when others join us,” she said, clutching her toddler.

Lawyer Faisal Siddiqui, who is pursuing the fire case in the Sindh High Court, called it a day of the artists. “Our dream is to turn the factory into a public monument, and also to turn it into a rehabilitation centre for the survivors. We dream of having a country where no factory would be unsafe for labourers.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Denied closure, families of Baldia factory fire victims agree to mass burial</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/504193/denied-closure-families-of-baldia-factory-fire-victims-agree-to-mass-burial</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/504193/denied-closure-families-of-baldia-factory-fire-victims-agree-to-mass-burial#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Feb 13 21:21:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=504193</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The govt has promised them that it would issue death certificates, making them eligible for compensation.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Tired of waiting for the remains of their loved ones to be identified, families of this subset of Baldia fire victims have agreed to the government’s proposal to hold a mass burial for charred corpses that are lying at Edhi morgue.

“I have been waiting to get my son’s body for months, and now they tell me that I won’t be able to get it,” said Muhammad Rauf, whose 18-year-old son, Muhammad Haris, was among the victims.

On Wednesday, Sindh Health Minister Sagheer Ahmed had announced that a mass burial of the 17 charred bodies that are lying at the Edhi morgue would be held on Sunday. The minister’s statement was lambasted by trade unionists during a press conference on Thursday.

The unionists, as well as activists, of various human rights organisations demanded that the independent commission formed by the Sindh High Court, headed by former Supreme Court judge Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, should be made responsible for disbursing all compensation among the victims’ families.

Speaking on the occasion, National Trade Union Federation’s Nasir Mansoor said that 22 families had received the bodies of their loved ones, and they should be immediately compensated. He claimed that around 262 workers had lost their lives in the ill-fated Ali Enterprises factory, and that 17 unidentified bodies were still lying in Edhi morgue. Officials have yet to compensate around 59 families, he added.

Tying compensation with mass burial

On the one hand, some relatives of the Baldia fire victims are being tormented by the knowledge that they would never be able to look at their loved ones for a last time. On the other hand, they know that they stand a chance of getting financial compensation offered by the government and other private organisations if they agree to the mass burial.



Until this point, these families faced a dilemma, as they did not have any documentary proof that their relatives had died in the fire. This, in turn, had essentially disqualified them from getting any kind of compensation.

Nazia, whose husband, Riaz Ahmad, died in the inferno, said that she and relatives of other unidentified victims had met MPA Hanif Sheikh on Thursday. The lawmaker had assured them that they would be given the death certificates of their loved ones after the mass burial. “What choice did we have except to say yes. If I had received my husband’s body and had looked at him for the last time, it would have given me [closure].”

Imran, who lost his brother and sister-in-law in the fire, said that he didn’t trust the government to hand out compensation to all the remaining families, even after the mass burial. “We ran from pillar to post for their bodies, but got nowhere. The same thing is likely to happen with the government’s promise to give compensation.” He feared that authorities were likely to pose questions over the “real” heirs of the victims when it came to giving compensation.

Human rights activists said that it was shameful for the government to be unable to identify the remaining victims of the inferno. Asad Butt of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that the bodies should not be buried until each one of them had been identified. “Even [medieval] bodies can be identified these days. What is the government’s excuse for not being able to [identify bodies of Baldia fire victims] and hand them over to their families,” he asked.

Karamat Ali of the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research said that the government should have sent the DNA samples abroad for identification. Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the Edhi Foundation, Anwar Kazmi, said that authorities had yet to contact the philanthropic organisation over the mass burial.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Compensation: Families of Baldia victims hold protest</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/503551/compensation-families-of-baldia-victims-hold-protest</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/503551/compensation-families-of-baldia-victims-hold-protest#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 06 Feb 13 21:37:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=503551</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Protesters demand that they be paid compensation announced by government.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The families of the victims of Baldia factory fire held a protest near the building of the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday demanding that they be paid compensation announced by the government.

“In addition to compensations, pensions should also be given to the next-of-kin of the victims,” said one elderly protester. The protesters moved on to the Karachi Press Club as the police didn’t allow them to approach the assembly gate. Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, on the other hand, told the media that compensations had already been paid.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Beacon of hope: Compensation in sight for Baldia fire families</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/500370/beacon-of-hope-compensation-in-sight-for-baldia-fire-families</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/500370/beacon-of-hope-compensation-in-sight-for-baldia-fire-families#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 13 15:15:17 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naeem.sahoutara]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=500370</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[SHC forms commission to disburse compensation promised by govt, private parties.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[While the fate of the intentional murder proceedings against the owners of the Baldia garment factory has yet to be decided, there appears to be some relief for the victims’ families.


The Sindh High Court has formed an independent commission, headed by former Supreme Court judge Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, to disburse the amount of compensation pledged by the government and private parties among the victims’ families.

A petition was filed by several human rights organisations demanding an “independent” judicial investigation of the fire that broke out in Ali Enterprises on September 11, 2012, and killed up to 259 workers. The owners of the factory were taken into custody but Abdul Aziz Bhaila was let go due to his old age. His sons, Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila, some employees and government officials are currently in jail on charges of intentional murder and criminal negligence.

At the last hearing, Faisal Siddiqui, the lawyer representing the NGOs, told the judges that a German company, KiK Textilien, which was among the buyers of readymade garments produced by Ali Enterprises, had come to an agreement over compensation with the petitioners.

“KiK Textilien has agreed to contribute $1million for immediate relief, while the amount for long term compensation will be determined through mutual negotiations later,” explained Siddiqui.

According to the agreement, in the first phase, the families of those victims who had not been identified due to severity of burns and decomposition of bodies will be given the same amount as provided to others by the government or non-government sources so far.



Out of the promised $1million, the lawyer said, that the German firm has already sent some amount to the petitioners on the condition that the money is handed over to the independent commission constituted by the court. The company insisted that the distribution takes place in a transparent manner, Siddiqui told the judges.

At the last hearing, the judges had called for proposals from the NGOs, the lawyer representing the factory owners and the relevant government departments for the commission. On Tuesday, all the stakeholders gave their consent and unanimously agreed to make Justice (retd) Rehmat Hussain Jaffery its head.

The factory owners’ lawyer, Amir Raza Naqvi, announced that his clients were even ready to contribute Rs61.8 million for the families. This amount may be ordered to be withdrawn from the total amount the factory owners have already deposited with the Nazir of the SHC.

The bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqir, ordered the formation of the commission that will lay down the criteria to disburse the compensation amount.

DNA testing

Meanwhile, the judges also gave the relevant authorities 15 days to finalise the process of DNA testing to determine the identities of the unidentified bodies. Adjourning the hearing till February 15, the bench directed the officials to submit compliance reports by the next date.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire case: NGOs go to court over PM’s ‘interference’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/499166/baldia-factory-fire-case-ngos-go-to-court-over-pm%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98interference%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/499166/baldia-factory-fire-case-ngos-go-to-court-over-pm%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98interference%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 27 Jan 13 01:43:51 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[naeem.sahoutara]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=499166</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ask court to turn the factory into a rehabilitation centre for the victims’ families.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Several NGOs advocating human rights have gone to the court against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for his alleged interference in the proceedings of the Baldia factory fire case.


They have also asked the court to order that the gutted factory be turned into a rehabilitation centre for the victims’ families.

The Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research (PILER), Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, National Trade Union Federation, Hosiery Garments Textile and General Workers Union, are among six petitioners who have filed a petition in the Sindh High Court.

The factory owners - Abdul Aziz Bhaila as well as his sons Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila - have been named in FIR 343 of 2012, registered at the SITE-B police station under Sections 435, 436, 337, 322, 302 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the petitioners, the Prime Minister in his address to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry on December 29,2012 reportedly said that “the authorities should re-investigate the Baldia fire case and provide justice to the employers of Ali Enterprises if a wrong case has been registered against them under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code.”

The court was also asked to direct the Sindh government to acquire the gutted factory’s land to establish and run a rehabilitation and community centre for the families of the victims and to order action against the government departments responsible for enforcing building, labour and environmental laws.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2013.

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			<title>Demand to remove governors before elections unlawful: Kaira</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/499013/demand-to-remove-governors-before-elections-unlawful-kaira</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/499013/demand-to-remove-governors-before-elections-unlawful-kaira#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 13 18:42:05 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=499013</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Minister for information and broadcasting urges media to exercise care, investigate in reporting on sensitive issues.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[In a candid talk with the media on Friday, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira termed the demands by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly as unconstitutional, Radio Pakistan reported.

Kaira termed the demands of Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan to remove Governors before the elections‚ as unlawful. The information minister said that governors have no link with executive authority and that under the 18th Amendment the role of caretaker setup has been limited. The governors, Kaira said, would only run day to day affairs and help in holding of free‚ fair and transparent elections.

The minister maintained that the caretaker set up will be established in consultation with the Opposition leader. He though questioned the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader that when the general elections are going to be held under a caretaker setup‚ why confusion being created.

Asked about how the caretaker set up would be formed in Balochistan‚ Kaira said that his personal opinion was that if an assembly is suspended then its authority is exercised by the National Assembly.
Irresponsible reporting

Kaira took the opportunity of Friday’s candid press briefing to put the media and reporting, especially with respect the government and prime minister under the spotlight. 

Urging the mainstream media to exercise care in reporting on sensitive issues, Kaira pointed towards instances of misreporting on important issues recently, thereby creating wrong impressions and perceptions.

Pointing towards the case of appointing Tauqir Sadiq as chairman of oil and gas regulatory authority (OGRA), Kaira said that the media had presented the news in such a manner where it seemed like Raja Pervez Ashraf had approved Sadiq for the post, which was wrong.

The information minister explained that appointment of heads of different regulatory authorities is done as per prescribed procedure. He said that procedure was also adopted during appointment of OGRA chairman, where 17 names were proposed by a committee headed by the minister of petroleum and included the secretary of petroleum‚ joint secretary of petroleum‚ private sector representative Shaukat Hayat Durrani and additional secretary establishment.

To further shorten the list, then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who was also looking after the Ministry of Petroleum at that time, asked Raja Pervez Ashraf to head the committee. This committee short-listed four names. One of the four short listed was Tauqir Sadiq‚ which was ultimately approved by Gilani. Kaira lamented that the angle presented in some reports gave the impression that Ashraf had appointed Sadiq was factually incorrect since he was not the appointing authority at the time.

The information minister said the prime minister‚ ministers and officers of the government take numerous decisions in good faith and there is always room for a mistake but they should not be blamed for that.

Kaira, though was not yet through with his grievances over misreporting.

He continued about reporting on death of National Accountability Bureau officer Kamran Faisal. The Minister said that a six member medical board had carried out post-mortem and samples have also been sent to laboratories in Punjab for chemical examination. Further, a judicial commission consisting of a former senior judge of the Supreme Court has been set up and a two member bench of the Supreme Court is also hearing the case. In this scenario, Kaira said it would be wrong to link his death with Rental Power Project’s case.

The minister said there was also irresponsible reporting in the Baldia Town Karachi factory tragedy. He said that when the prime minister's attention was directed towards this case at a function of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry‚ the premier directed Sindh’s chief secretary to look into the matter and that relevant law should apply. This, Kaira said, had been twisted to directions to drop the charges.

The minister pointed towards the sayings and practices of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), asking media men to follow those teachings where in it asks people not to speak about things without investigation. The media trials, Kaira, can spoil image of an innocent victim.

New Punjab province

On the subject of creating a new province in Punjab, Kaira said that a commission on new provinces in Punjab has been formed as a result of unanimous resolution passed by the Punjab Assembly and its report will come shortly.

The minister though pointed out that neither the leader of the Opposition nor the Punjab Government have given the names of their representatives for the commission as yet. However, the commission is working and the leader of the opposition can still had the option to join the commission and present his point of view.]]>
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			<title>Baldia fire case: Unless families agree, murder charges can’t be dropped, say Lawyers</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498805/baldia-fire-case-unless-families-agree-murder-charges-can%e2%80%99t-be-dropped-say-lawyers</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498805/baldia-fire-case-unless-families-agree-murder-charges-can%e2%80%99t-be-dropped-say-lawyers#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 13 06:32:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naeem.sahoutara]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=498805</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The prime minister’s surprising order to drop the charges, however, holds no legal water, say legal experts.]]>
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				<![CDATA[There are only two ways that premeditated murder charges can be dropped against the owners of the Baldia garment factory that was gutted in Pakistan’s worst industrial fire.

Either the families of the victims can agree to it or the prosecution must successfully prove there isn’t enough evidence to support it. The prime minister’s surprising order to drop the charges, however, holds no legal water, say legal experts.

On September 11, last year, at least 259 workers were trapped and burnt to death in the multi-storey Ali Enterprises that was said to be ISO-9000 certified. Owner Abdul Aziz Bhaila and his two sons Arshad and Shahid are facing charges of murder, criminal negligence and common intent. Also booked in the case were five factory employees and four government officials.

The Sindh High Court took up the case on its own the very next day and the wheels started turning. Four months on the trial is set to open but the prosecution has taken a U-turn based on the investigator’s suggestion that the key charge of premeditated murder be dropped.


Shahida Parveen struggles to come to terms with the loss of her husband. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS


The change of heart has been attributed to instructions recently given by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to the Sindh government to clear the allegations of intentional murder – an offence that carries a minimum sentence of life imprisonment and maximum of the death sentence.

If this happens, the case would die, argues lawyer Faisal Siddiqui, who is representing workers and human rights groups who asked for an independent judicial inquiry. “The main offence in the FIR is premeditated murder, which the prosecution has recommended to be removed at [this] important stage when the trial is about to begin,” he said. “The PM had recently assured the Karachi chamber of commerce office bearers that the Bhailas would be cleared of the murder charge. He also directed the Sindh chief secretary to solve the matter. [This is why] the prosecution has taken a different stance.”



Issuing these instructions, however, is tantamount to the Executive interfering with the Judiciary. “The premier is the chief executive, who does not enjoy judicial authority,” stressed Muhammad Ilyas Khan, a lawyer specialising in criminal cases.

For him, the PM’s instructions or suggestions, if any, in this case have no legal value. And as for any authority putting on any pressure, that also qualifies as interference. “In Islamic law, the authority of the State is nothing,” Khan said. “It is only the aggrieved person or party with whose consent the charge or case can be taken back.”

This in enshrined in the Code of Criminal Procedure. According to former additional advocate general Habib Ahmed, while Section 494 says that the federal and provincial governments may take back any case they can’t drop the important murder charge unless a victim’s heirs agree. “In a murder case the survivors or legal heirs of the victim are more important than any other party,” he said. “The investigation officer’s recommendation without their consent is not acceptable.”



All of this talk of dropping the murder charge might just be a storm in a teacup as the court has not made any changes. Indeed, Special Public Prosecutor Shahzia Hanjrah, who is assisting the trial court, has ruled out the possibility of the men going scot-free.

“The trial is about to begin,” she said. “So taking back the allegation at this stage seems impossible.”

TIMELINE OF A TRAGEDY

Sep 11, 2012

Fire erupts in the Baldia factory

Sep 11, 2012 

Case registered by SHO Muhammad Nawaz 

Sep 11, 2012 

Investigating officer Ch. Zafar Iqbal collects evidence, protective bail for owners follows soon after

Sep 20, 2012 

Investigations handed over to Jahanzaib Khan. Three more suspects arrested soon after

Sep 21, 2012 

Protective bail extended by the LHC Rawalpindi bench

Jan 5, 2013 

Police submit supplementary charge sheet to drop pre-meditated murder charges that were dropped on Jan 23

Dec 14, 2012 

Judicial magistrate’s court issues warrants against absconder Shahrukh and four govt officials

Nov 22, 2012 

A judge refuses to hear Bhaila’s bail plea

Nov 17, 2012 

Labour director gets pre-arrest bail

Oct 24, 2012 

Court extends deadline for final list of charges to Nov 2

Oct 6, 2012 

Bail granted to Abdul Aziz Bhaila on medical grounds, bail of other suspects denied. Factory owners and manager sent on remand

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>‘What if it were the PM’s son?’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498749/%e2%80%98what-if-it-were-the-pm%e2%80%99s-son%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498749/%e2%80%98what-if-it-were-the-pm%e2%80%99s-son%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 13 06:27:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rabia.ali]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=498749</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Some families still waiting to receive the bodies of their loved ones for burial.]]>
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			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[“If it had been the prime minister’s son instead of mine, would he have spared the owners?” asked Mohammad Sharif as tears gushed down his face.

Sharif’s eldest son, Hanif, who had a speech and hearing impairment, was among the hundreds of victims who died muted deaths as flames licked the top floor of the factory.

Hanif, 21, worked as a machine operator at Ali Enterprises and despite the disability, was working to contribute to his household with aims to build a roof over his almost mud-plastered house in Ittehad Town.

“My son had small wishes. He wanted to construct rooms and get married,” said the white-bearded Sharif as he choked back his grief on a charpoy (bed) borrowed from a neighbour. The family of nine had been cramming into a single room for the past 25 years. But, Hanif was going to change that; his savings were dedicated to changing the conditions his family lived in.



As the family deals with the loss of Hanif, the news of the murder charges being dropped only adds to their woes. “If the owners are set free, we will lodge murder cases individually. Then we will see how they escape,” said Bashir, Hanif’s uncle.

Shahida Parveen, who dwells with her three children in front of Sharif’s house, was left a widow by the Baldia Town fire.

“I spend every night cursing the owners and weeping. Why didn’t the owners die in the fire? Why was it only the poor?” she said.

Shahida’s husband, Akmal worked as a supervisor at the stitching floor. The family lost their sole breadwinner with Akmal’s death.

“Only God knows how I am living. I don’t have money to buy milk for my children.”



“My father is alive because when people die they go to the graveyard, and my father is not in the graveyard,” said Akmal’s eldest son as Shahida’s eyes well up with tears. The family has yet to receive Akmal’s body, despite providing DNA samples on three different occasions, Shahida explained.

Behind the burnt factory, Imran, who lost his brother Javed and sister-in-law Samina, has taken up to two jobs to look after three children left behind by the deceased. Like Sharif and Shahida’s family, he has yet to receive his brother’s and Samina’s body.

“Every day there is an atmosphere of mourning in the house. And if those responsible for locking the doors, and keeping the people behind grilled windows escape, then how will we face our loved ones on the day of judgement,”he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Factory fire case: PM’s office clarifies he asked murder charges to be re-investigated not withdrawn</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498869/factory-fire-case-pm%e2%80%99s-office-clarifies-he-asked-murder-charges-to-be-re-investigated-not-withdrawn</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498869/factory-fire-case-pm%e2%80%99s-office-clarifies-he-asked-murder-charges-to-be-re-investigated-not-withdrawn#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 13 06:26:29 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Hafeez Tunio]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=498869</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PM had no idea under which section case was registered against owners of Ali Enterprises, says press secretary.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The prime minister had not ordered anyone to withdraw the case against the owners of the Baldia garment factory, said his press secretary, Shafqat Jalil, on Thursday. He had instead asked the Sindh chief secretary to re-investigate if they were falsely implicated.

This statement comes amid reports that Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had ordered for the all-important murder charge to be dropped against the owners of the factory where at least 259 people had perished in an inferno on September 11 last year. The trial is set to begin four months on.

Jalil told The Express Tribune that the PM’s directives were given much earlier, on December 29, at an event organised by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Earlier, Prime Minister Ashraf had no idea under which section the case was registered against the owners of Ali Enterprises,” Jalil said, adding that the premier was “shocked” when the business community told him that the case was registered under Section 302 (premeditated murder). However, the FIR was registered three months earlier, on September 11.

The press secretary explained, that after being briefed on the issue, the premier said: “I have no authority to withdraw the charges levelled against them, but [I] will ask the Sindh chief secretary and police to reinvestigate the legal aspect of the case, before referring it to the court for a further decision.”

“The government would not tolerate anyone being harassed,” Jalil quoted the PM as saying. He said that it was never discussed that all charges against the owners ought to be withdrawn, but that the charge of murder must be re-investigated. “I repeat again, neither did the PM withdraw the case nor did he order it. I believe that case has not been withdrawn and it is before the court,” he said.

Clean Clothes Campaign pledges to fight against PM’s decision

An alliance dedicated to improving working conditions in the global garment industry has termed the prime minister’s orders to withdraw murder charges against the owners of Ali Enterprises “illegal, immoral and unjust”. The Clean Clothes Campaign pledged on Thursday to fight it. “It is the constitutional responsibility of the state to protect and safeguard the right to life of all citizens on an equal footing,” said the campaign’s, Samantha Maher, while expressing solidarity with the victims at a news conference.

Maher said that labour organisations will fight against the decision, both legally and through peaceful protests in Pakistan, whereas the campaign will take up the issue on an international footing. The Clean Clothes Campaign is a network of 15 European organisations. “The government should have actively followed the case in the courts, and provided protection to the victims and witnesses to ensure justice for the workers of the burnt factory,” Maher added.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research’s Karamat Ali said that it was “shocking that rather than fulfilling its constitutional obligation to protect its citizens and stand up for them, the government chooses to favour a powerful industrial lobby and has finally withdrawn charges against the owners of Ali Enterprises.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Negligence is not murder, insists KCCI</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498875/negligence-is-not-murder-insists-kcci</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498875/negligence-is-not-murder-insists-kcci#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 13 06:23:35 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[farhan.zaheer]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=498875</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Chamber of commerce says case should continue on the lines of ‘alleged negligence’.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Despite widespread uproar over the reports of the government’s decision to drop murder charges against the owner of Ali Enterprises, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) – the biggest chamber of the country – insists that they should be withdrawn and instead the case should continue on the lines of “alleged negligence” on the part of the owner.

The chamber believes there is a clear-cut difference between murder and negligence – both are not in any way synonymous.

“We want the government to complete all the investigations as soon as it can and take action if negligence is proven against the owner of the factory,” KCCI President Muhammad Haroon Agar said in an interview with The Express Tribune. “But we believe that murder charges against the owner are unjustified and should be withdrawn immediately.

“In case of such incidents, even if negligence is proven, you cannot be booked for murder,” said Agar, when asked why the KCCI insists that the government drop the murder charges. “Yes, one may be jailed in such cases and we would not have any problem if he were jailed on charges of negligence.”

Replying to a question, he clarified that the KCCI was not trying to protect the factory owners. “If the government proves criminal negligence on the owners’ part, they may get a long sentence,” he said.

“Our point is that the fire seems like an accident and the case should remain in the realm of an accident and not on the lines of intentional murder. According to our reports, the factory had everything for safety, including ISO 9000, and some other international safety standards.”

Italy-based company RINA had issued Ali Enterprises the SA8000 certificate just three weeks before the fire broke out. SA8000 is compliance certification granted after an audit of a company’s policies, procedures and documentation, to ensure safety at the workplace. Right after the incident, the Italian firm announced it would conduct an investigation. But the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research said that it believes that RINA was equally responsible for granting Ali Enterprises safety certificate SA8000 despite the fact that there were no fire exits in the factory.

“We respect international certifications that the factory owners had as these international bodies themselves inspect factories before issuing such certificates for exports,” Agar said when asked about the authenticity of safety certificates. “It is difficult to challenge their standards.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire case: Treasury bench protests dropping of murder charges on PM’s orders</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498913/baldia-factory-fire-case-treasury-bench-protests-dropping-of-murder-charges-on-pm%e2%80%99s-orders</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498913/baldia-factory-fire-case-treasury-bench-protests-dropping-of-murder-charges-on-pm%e2%80%99s-orders#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 13 21:59:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[peer.muhammad]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=498913</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[On wednesday, PM had assured the KCCI that the murder charges against the factory owners would be dropped.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A fuming Raza Rabbani led a walkout from the Senate on Wednesday in protest against the prime minister’s directives to drop the murder charges against the owners of a factory in Karachi, where a fire last year caused the deaths of over 200 people.


On a point of order, Senator Rabbani from the Pakistan Peoples Party expressed deep concern over reports that section 302 had been scrapped from the FIR lodged against the owners of the Baldia Town factory, where 289 workers burnt to death on September 11, 2012.

On Wednesday, in a meeting with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had assured the business community that the murder charges against the factory owners would be dropped. This was confirmed by Minister of State for Finance Saleem Mandviwalla.

During the Upper House session, Rabbani claimed that five out of six exits of the factory had been closed off when the fire broke out and the main gate was also shut soon after.

He added that he was “shocked to hear that section 302 is being scrapped against the factory owners on the directives of the PPP prime minister”.

“The PPP is a party for the poor and labour class; it is the responsibility of the party to protect their rights,” he said.

The senator said that they had come to know that some ‘guest political actors’ had recently persuaded the prime minister to remove section 302 and had changed the investigation officer of the case as well.

“There is a double standard. When labourers went on strike for their rights in KESC, they were booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATC),” he said. “Not a single person died [in that strike], but when 280 workers were burnt to death due to the criminal negligence of an industrialist, section 302 is removed?” He felt that this should not be done by the PPP at least. “If the case is in a court of law then let the law take its course,” he added, before walking out of the house, followed by Awami National Party senators.



Leader of the House in the Senate Jahangir Badar said, however, that neither did the prime minister give any directives to remove the charges nor was it in his authority to do so. Only the chief minister was authorised to issue such directions but he did not have any information to this effect. Opposition leader Ishaq Dar echoed Rabbani’s concern and sought a detailed report into the issue from the leader of the house, which Badar assured would be presented in the Senate on Monday.

For his part, former law minister Maula Bux Chandio clarified that Section 302 had not been removed yet but that the demand had been made by the business community on the grounds that it was not applicable as there was no intention to murder.

Governor Rule

Earlier, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and the Balochistan National Party (Awami) also staged a walkout for the third consecutive day against the imposition of Governor Rule in Balochistan.

Senator Kalsoom Perveen said that Balochistan had been singled out by the imposition of Governor Rule given that law and order issues existed in every province.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Jafar Iqbal pointed out that the Punjab governor was issuing controversial statements on breaking the Punjab into many provinces. Senator Farhatullah Babar responded by saying that the committee on the creation of new provinces had nothing to do with the governor’s statements.

&nbsp;

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Baldia Town factory fire: Murder charges against factory owners dropped</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498374/baldia-town-factory-fire-murder-charges-against-factory-owners-dropped</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/498374/baldia-town-factory-fire-murder-charges-against-factory-owners-dropped#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jan 13 23:07:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sohail.khattak]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=498374</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PM had assured business community charges against billionaire owners would be dropped.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[In a move that is likely to baffle most and one that reeks of a cover-up, murder charges against the owners of the Baldia Town factory – the worst factory fire in the world in recent times – have been withdrawn, confirmed Minister of State for Finance Saleem Mandviwalla on Wednesday.


Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, in a meeting with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), assured members of the business community that murder charges against the factory owners would be dropped.

However, in a late night development on Wednesday, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad approached the premier and President Asif Ali Zardari to reconsider the decision. The governor told the media that the president had assured him that injustice will not be meted out to the victims’ families.

Moments after the telephonic conversation, Ebad contacted Sindh Inspector General Police Fayaz Leghari to continue the investigation into the case without changing the investigation officers. According to reports, Mandviwala is likely to arrive in Karachi soon to hold meetings with the business community and Sindh governor.

More than 250 people lost their lives on September 11 last year when a fire broke out at the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Baldia Town. The case was registered under sections related to murder against the factory owners, its general manager, security guards and some government officials over negligence.

When contacted by The Express Tribune earlier, Mandviwalla, a political appointee, muddled the issue further by saying that the case itself had not been dropped as reported by a certain section of the media.

“Only section 302 has been removed from the FIR,” he said, explaining that the section was inapplicable in the case since no murder had actually been committed. However, he added that it is still legally possible for the police to make changes in the FIR if their investigation points towards ill intentions.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) Executive Director Karamat Ali said the Prime Minister had no authority to change a case that was under trial. He maintained police cannot change the FIR without the court’s permission either and authorities needed to present an application before the court if they want to remove section 302 from the case.

“The court will hear the case on Monday (January 28), so it is too early to comment,” he added.

Meanwhile, KCCI President Muhammad Haroon Agar confirmed the chamber had approached the premier for the withdrawal of murder charges against the factory owners.

“We do not want to protect the exporter,” defended Agar, adding, “We just want the government to determine the sort of negligence that led to such a catastrophe.”

“The factory had various international security compliance certificates, including ISO 9000, which are not easy to acquire in absence of fire safety arrangements,” he maintained.

Case transferred to Orangi Town DSP

To further confuse the case, investigation itself has been transferred to the Orangi Town police deputy superintendent (DSP), The Express Tribune has learnt.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Jahanzaib Khan, the former investigating officer in the case, said he was ordered by the Investigations deputy inspector general (DIG) to transfer the case to the Orangi Town DSP.

“I am complying with orders,” he added.

According to Khan, a board headed by Investigations DIG Manzoor Mughal decided to transfer the case after hearing certain complaints. He added that if a complainant or accused party was dissatisfied with the investigation, they could request a transfer.

“No reasons have been disclosed in the letter that I have received as to why the case was being transferred,” said Khan.

“I have transferred the case with a heavy heart… all my hard work has gone into vain.”

Investigations, case property and all other things would also be handed over to the investigators concerned, he added.

However, DIG West Javed Odho denied any orders to transfer the case had been issued. (WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT BY FARHAN ZAHEER)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Jawad Ahmed pays tribute to victims of Baldia factory fire</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/497498/jawad-ahmed-pays-tribute-to-victims-of-baldia-factory-fire</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/497498/jawad-ahmed-pays-tribute-to-victims-of-baldia-factory-fire#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jan 13 16:34:32 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sher.khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=497498</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[With Mein Bhi Insaan Hoon, the singer hopes to draw attention to Pakistan’s labour laws.]]>
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			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Singer Jawad Ahmed is all set to make a comeback with his single Mein Bhi Insaan Hoon, a tribute to the victims of a fire that engulfed Ali Enterprises in Baldia Town and claimed over 200 lives on September 11, 2012.


Ahmed first became popular when the release of his single Allah Meray Dil Ke Andar, a song that talks about the transcendental existence of God. Listeners appreciated the catchy tune and quick rhythm, along with its message of inner peace. After appealing to his audience’s spiritual side, Ahmed is now trying to connect with a wider audience through Mein Bhi Insaan Hoon. The new track is part of his initiative to create awareness about labour laws in Pakistan. It seems that Ahmed is leveraging his popularity to create social awareness and consciousness; if you ever see him out in public, you’ll notice that a crowd is usually following.

“People had said that the Baldia fire tragedy was a serious issue,” says Ahmed. “But the masses did not understand why.” He further added, “There are really no labour rights in this country. For me, this is important, because I am part of the working class and my efforts will now highlight the struggle of peasants and workers.”



At a press conference to announce his concert in December, he described Mein Bhi Insaan Hoon as a song that dedicated to the Baldia factory workers as “change can never come until they realise it’s importance.” At the concert organised by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler), the stage was simple; but large images of rescue teams combing through the factory debris, as well as those of burn victims being treated at hospitals loomed in the background. Men and women who lost their family members in the fire gathered to remember their loved ones; as they held up photographs of young men who perished, women cried and clutched their shawls to their faces. The video of Mein Bhi Insaan Hoon was filmed during the concert, and is scheduled for release in February.

“We invited the victims for a concert because we wanted to capture pure emotions which people could feel when hearing the lyrics of the song,” says Ahmed. “These lyrics convey that pain of these victims; they describe the misery and death… the helplessness of these workers.”

“When I heard the stories of children, sisters, brothers and fathers dying, I got such a weird feeling. I sat down and penned this song within an hour,” he says.


The video will also feature the families of the men who lost their lives in the fire. PHOTO: PUBLICITY
Reaching out

“Music for the underprivileged in Pakistan was only available through PTV,” says Ahmed.

“But since that has become a commercial institution, music for the less privileged is not available.”

He also laments that Bollywood music is accessible while our content is for a niche market. “Indian music is for everyone, but Pakistani music is now elitist. It is only available for a certain group of people,” he says.

Ahmed blames the structure of the music industry and the trend of releasing tracks online for the limited availability of music; he feels that while the urban population can listen to music online, the common man is estranged. This development has changed the scenario from what it used to be a decade ago when Ahmed burst onto the scene with Bol Tujhay Kya Chahiye.

Apart from his awareness campaign, Ahmed says he intends to continue to produce commercial music. His next 10-track album will be released on March 23 in Pakistan and India.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2013.

Like Life &amp; Style on Facebook for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.]]>
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			<title>Court calls up prosecutor to argue Baldia factory owners’ bail plea</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/497140/court-calls-up-prosecutor-to-argue-baldia-factory-owners%e2%80%99-bail-plea</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/497140/court-calls-up-prosecutor-to-argue-baldia-factory-owners%e2%80%99-bail-plea#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jan 13 21:32:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=497140</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The jailed Bhaila brothers have gone to the Sindh High Court against murder charges.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Sindh High Court (SHC) has called up one of the special public prosecutors to argue the bail pleas of the Ali Enterprises owners on January 28.

The directives came on Monday as the court took up the bail pleas of the Bhaila brothers, who own Ali Enterprises, the garment factory that caught fire on September 11 last year and resulted in the deaths of over 250 workers.

The police arrested Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila after a sessions court rejected their pre-arrest bail applications on October 6, 2012. Their ailing father, Abdul Aziz Bhaila, was granted bail due to old age.

The jailed brothers went to the SHC for concession of bail through their lawyer, Amir Raza Naqvi, who alleged the prosecution had falsely implicated his clients for murder. “They had no intention to kill their own workers and ruin their own business,” he said. “It was simply an accident.”

There are some glaring contradictions in the case, Naqvi claimed. “At one point, the police claimed to have recorded statements of more than 300 witnesses while once they had claimed recording statements of more than 800 witnesses.”

He also ruled out the allegations that the factory doors were closed by the owners to save their belongings.

Defence lawyer Khawaja Shamsul Islam, who represented the factory’s production manager, Mansoor Ahmed, said his client was innocent. Ahmed’s uncle also died in the deadly blaze, he said.

M.T. Khan, the lawyer of the factory’s watchman, Arshad Mehmood, also appealed to the court to grant bail to his client, who was not even present at the time of the fire.

After hearing their arguments, Justice Ghulam Sarwar Korai directed the special public prosecutor, Shazia Hanjra, to put forward his comments on the bail applications next Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22nd, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Accountability: Baldia fire commission report sought</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494463/accountability-baldia-fire-commission-report-sought</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494463/accountability-baldia-fire-commission-report-sought#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 13 23:17:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=494463</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Sindh High Court directs provincial law officer to submit report of judicial commission on the fire by January 24.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed the provincial law officer on Tuesday to submit the report of the judicial commission on the Baldia factory fire by January 24.


Justice Maqbool Baqir, who headed the bench, noted that the report had not been submitted by the provincial law officer despite court orders.

He adjourned the case till January 24 and directed the advocate general to submit the report in court.

Meanwhile, the terms of reference to form a commission to disburse the $1 million compensation pledged by a German firm were also submitted.

The German firm is one of the importers of the products of the Ali Enterprises garment factory, where the fire broke out. According to official statistics, nearly 259 workers were burnt alive when the factory caught fire on September 11, 2012. Several human rights organisations took the factory owners to court.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Looking at the bigger picture</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/493851/looking-at-the-bigger-picture</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/493851/looking-at-the-bigger-picture#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jan 13 18:44:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[tazeen.javed]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=493851</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[People stand up, raise voices after tragedies have become front page news but very few persevere with their efforts.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Activism in Pakistan is generally inconsistent and sporadic. People stand up and raise their voices after tragedies and calamities have become front page news but very few individuals and groups persevere and continue with their efforts for their chosen cause.

The Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) is one such organisation, which has been working for workers’ rights in the country for over 30 years. Many of us were traumatised by the fire that took the lives of 262 workers at Ali Enterprises in Baldia Town last September, and demanded immediate action, like the arrest of the owners of the factory and revamping of the way the labour department works but soon moved on to other issues. PILER, which has been advocating greater investment in terms of interest and stakes in workers’ safety and well-being, sought another solution. While an indifferent state and an employer unconcerned with the safety of its workers bear major responsibility for the tragedy, it also tried to involve international buyers, who were a part of the supply chain and tend to benefit from the cheap labour provided by Pakistani workers.

The German buyer, KiK, was engaged in a dialogue to not only seek compensation for the victims of Ali Enterprises, but was also involved in a plan that worked towards building a long-term workplace safety regime for Pakistani workers. Clean Clothes Campaign, an international workers rights group based in Amsterdam, collaborated with PILER to commit a judicious compensation amount. KiK recently signed an agreement with PILER to make an initial payment to the victims and their families of one million dollars in order to provide immediate relief and to negotiate a long-term compensation package with all other involved stakeholders.



The compensation payment initially seeks to focus on those workers’ families, which have not received any assistance because the victims’ bodies were unidentifiable, and will focus in later phases on those rendered disabled and hence unemployable and others who have received some state compensation. PILER has requested the Sindh High Court to constitute an independent commission to oversee the compensation process and determine all necessary details for the purpose.

KiK’s initiative has helped establish the responsibility of buyers in the production system of Pakistan. This may be the first time that buyers have come forward to take responsibility and made a commitment to ensure future safety of workers. It works to their benefit as well because it makes more sense to invest in a prevention regime rather than participate in fire-fighting at a later stage after their reputation and credibility has suffered.

In addition, PILER has filed a petition, which demands that a judicial commission headed by a high court or a Supreme Court judge be constituted to give its findings on the causes of the industrial fire tragedy; assign responsibility and liability to government officials and departments responsible for negligence, and failure over a timely response to the fire; determine compensation for the families of the victims; and make recommendations for the avoidance of such industrial tragedies.

It takes sustained efforts to keep an issue alive and to ensure that things change. PILER’s effort tells us that we need consistent and continued effort if we want to see things get better and to also look at the bigger picture instead of focusing on narrow and short-term gains. Things will only change when people collectively ask the state to move away from non-issues and demand its attention and focus on the taxpaying, GDP-earning voters.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire case: Police drop ‘intentional murder’ charge against suspects</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/493621/baldia-factory-fire-case-police-drop-%e2%80%98intentional-murder%e2%80%99-charge-against-suspects</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/493621/baldia-factory-fire-case-police-drop-%e2%80%98intentional-murder%e2%80%99-charge-against-suspects#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jan 13 06:47:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rizwan.shehzad]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=493621</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[More than 250 people lost their lives on September 11 last year.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[In the second such turnaround in the Baldia factory fire case, investigators have dropped premeditated murder charges against all nominated suspects due to “lack of evidence”.

More than 250 people lost their lives on September 11 last year when a fire broke out at the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Baldia Town. The case was registered under sections related to murder against the factory owners, its general manager, security guards and some government officials over negligence.

Now the police have prepared a supplementary charge-sheet withdrawing the intentional murder charge because no substantial evidence was found directly implicating the suspects in the killings.



The charge-sheet was submitted to the additional district public prosecutor, who has asked the case investigating officer, Jahanzeb Khan, to submit it through the special public prosecutor. “The investigation and the statements of witnesses and suspects recorded in the court under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code have revealed that premeditated murder charges against the suspects, Abdul Aziz, Arshad Bhaila, Shahid Bhaila, Mansoor, Fazal Ahmed, Ali Muhammad and Arshad Mehmood are not proven,” the charge-sheet read.

The charges of unintentional murder (Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code), bodily harm (section 337) and common intention (Section 322) have not been withdrawn against the suspects. “As I was ordered by the court, I have submitted the supplementary charge sheet No. 138-B/12,” the investigating officer said.

“No case can be built on assumptions. This is not even a case,” argued the factory owners’ lawyer, Amir Raza Naqvi, while talking to The Express Tribune. The police have not done any forensic tests so far and built a criminal case orally, he said.

Naqvi raised the question that why his clients were put behind bars when the police have not even determined the cause of the fire.

“Police have weakened the case due to pressure but we’ll not let anyone do any injustice with the workers and the bereaved families,” Nasir Mansoor, the National Trade Union Federation deputy general secretary, said.

This is not the first U-turn made by the police in the case. The law enforcers had earlier included four government officials - the labour director, SITE managing director, Civil Defence additional controller and Karachi Region-II electric inspector - but later requested the court to omit the charges against them as “institutions could not be charged since they were not persons and departmental action could be taken against them”.

The second judicial magistrate West, Sohail Ahmed Mashori, had denied the request stating the investigating officer’s contention was not lawful as the police had sought time to fix the responsibility of the institutions. The court then issued non-bailable arrest warrants and ordered that the police include government officials in the inquiry.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Victims of Baldia factory fire: Parents ask court to expedite DNA tests for unidentified bodies</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/493143/victims-of-baldia-factory-fire-parents-ask-court-to-expedite-dna-tests-for-unidentified-bodies</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/493143/victims-of-baldia-factory-fire-parents-ask-court-to-expedite-dna-tests-for-unidentified-bodies#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 12 Jan 13 21:29:13 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naeem.sahoutara]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=493143</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Parents of two victims file case at high court against authorities for failing to determine identity of their children]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The parents of two workers, who were killed in the blaze that broke out at Ali Enterprises on September 11, 2012, filed a case at the Sindh High Court on Saturday against the authorities for failing to determine the identity of their children through DNA tests.


Hussain Ahmed and Dilawar Hussain are among those parents whose sons’ remains are yet to be identified.

At least 259 workers - according to official statistics - were killed in one of the biggest industrial disasters in the country. Rescue workers had retrieved 33 unidentified bodies, charred beyond recognition, from the destroyed building out of which only seven have been identified through DNA tests.



Hussain Ahmed told the judges that his 24-year-old son, Sharjeel, was working as helper with Ali Enterprises and has been missing since the fire. Dilawar Hussain submitted that his 23-year-old son, Asif Aziz, who worked as pressman at the factory, was also missing since September 11. “Although officials drew samples for the DNA tests multiple times, they have failed to determine whether or not their sons are among the unidentified bodies,” said their lawyer, Qadir Hussain Khan.

The petitioners claimed that while various government figures had announced compensation for the victims’ families, they had not received a single penny.

Both fathers asked the court to direct the authorities to expedite the DNA tests and also provide them the monetary compensation as promised by the government. Headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam, the division bench issued notice to the interior secretary, Sindh home secretary, IG police, station house officer and the investigation in-charge at the SITE police station, and one of the factory owners, Shahid Abdul Aziz Bhailla, for January 15.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>SHC seeks proposals to form commission for victims’ compensation</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/492243/shc-seeks-proposals-to-form-commission-for-victims%e2%80%99-compensation</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/492243/shc-seeks-proposals-to-form-commission-for-victims%e2%80%99-compensation#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jan 13 20:56:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naeem.sahoutara]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=492243</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Compensation of $1m only to be disbursed by the commission.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Sindh High Court called for proposals from the Sindh government, non-government organisations and owners of the Baldia garment factory on Thursday for constitution of a commission to disburse compensation provided by a German firm.


KiK Textilien, a German company, has offered to pay $1 million to those who were injured and families of the 259 workers who were killed in the fire which broke out at Ali Enterprises on September 11, 2012.

Headed by Justice Maqbool Baqir, the division bench was hearing petition filed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research, and other non-government organisations, who went to court for judicial investigation of the tragedy.

On Thursday, the court was informed that the petitioners and KiK, which was among the various importers Ali Enterprises was making garments for, had come to an agreement to distribute the compensation.

In the first phase, the families of those victims who had not been identified due to severity of burns and decomposition of bodies will be given the same amount as provided to others by the government or non-government sources so far.

KiK has agreed to contribute $1million for immediate relief, while the amount for long term compensation will be determined through mutual negotiation.

Out of the promised $1million, the lawyer said that German firm has already remitted some amount in favour of the petitioners but on the condition that the money is handed over for distribution to the independent commission that the court constitutes.



The judges observed that before passing any order, they would draw certain parameters for the disbursement for distribution of the money.

The judges directed the lawyers appearing for the petitioners, Sindh government and the factory owners to submit their proposals so that appropriate terms of reference could be prescribed for the proposed commission. The judges also ordered the authorities to submit a detailed report regarding payment of compensation to the surviving families.

The court directed that a copy of the report prepared by a judicial commission - which was constituted by Sindh government to probe the tragedy - should be filed before January 15.

Delays in DNA testing

Expressing their displeasure over delay in identification of bodies, the judges noted that despite their orders on November 8, 2012 to expedite the matter, DNA reports of only seven out of the 33 unidentified bodies had been received so far.

The court ordered Sindh IGP to send SP Saqib Sultan Al Mehmood and SP Faizullah Koreji, who were already members of the team monitoring the investigation, to Islamabad “instantly” to obtain the DNA reports so that the bodies may be handed over to their family members. The court ordered the exercise to be concluded within 15 days without fail and report to be submitted by the next date.

A philanthropist Shahzad Riaz pleaded to the court that he may be allowed to contribute Rs 5,720,000 for the welfare of the victims and their families.

Allowing his plea, the bench said that the amount will be distributed according to the order that will be passed on the next date of hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire: Seven more bodies identified through DNA tests</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/489663/baldia-factory-fire-seven-more-bodies-identified-through-dna-tests</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/489663/baldia-factory-fire-seven-more-bodies-identified-through-dna-tests#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 06 Jan 13 05:54:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=489663</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[German company agrees to compensate victims’ families.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Seven more bodies of the Baldia factory fire, which were lying in Edhi’s cold storage, have been identified through DNA tests.


According to Edhi official Anwar Kazi, five of the seven indentified bodies were taken by the families while the remaining two are still with Edhi.

Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) executive director Karamat Ali confirmed the identification of these bodies. “There are several more that need to be identified since their families are suffering,” he said.

The fourth month of the Baldia factory fire incident culminates next Friday, and 21 bodies have yet to be identified. At a news conference on Saturday, Ali announced that a German-based textile company, KiK Textilien, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Piler, under which the company will pay compensation to the victims of Ali Enterprises, the factory in which over 260 workers were burnt to death.



“Some of the workers’ bodies have decomposed and are unidentifiable, but their families are suffering as they have not received any compensation from the government despite all their struggles and efforts,” he said. Under the MOU, those victims’ whose families have not received any compensation from the government will be paid first. They will be compensated up to the level of assistance extended by the government departments and other sources so far.

KiK will be extending $1 million in the first phase, while the amount of compensation in the second phase will be determined after negotiations between all stakeholders. The company is also willing to compensate workers, who faced severe injuries in the fire leading to disabilities and loss of future employment, he added.

According to Ali, the number of missing workers is more than 21. “Piler along with other labour organisations is going to submit a petition in the Sindh High Court to seek an independent commission to manage the compensation process.”

This problem could be solved easily once the original factory records are found, he said. It will show how many workers were inside, he added. “Another way is to get testimonies from those workers who survived.”

In case the court does not establish such a commission, Piler will form a committee of prominent citizens, who have been associated with social causes and have a clean reputation. Labour rights activist Nasir Mansoor, Habibuddin Junaidi, Noor Mohammad and Rehana Yasmeen were also present at the news conference. They criticised the government for taking DNA samples for three times from the victims’ families without solving their problems.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Song for change: Jawad Ahmed sings to bring a revolution for Pakistan’s labourers</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/487097/song-for-change-jawad-ahmed-sings-to-bring-a-revolution-for-pakistan%e2%80%99s-labourers</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/487097/song-for-change-jawad-ahmed-sings-to-bring-a-revolution-for-pakistan%e2%80%99s-labourers#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jan 13 05:17:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category><category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category><category><![CDATA[Music]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=487097</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The singer performed for the families of the Baldia factory fire victims.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[This concert was unlike any other - instead of posters of rock stars there were pictures of labourers. In the place of ear-piercing shrieks and head-banging, there was only silence and the tears of those so overwhelmed by what they had lost that the pain was no less intense than it was on the fateful day four months ago.

Singer Jawad Ahmed in collaboration with the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) had organised a concert on Monday for the families of those who had lost their loved ones in the inferno that engulfed the Ali Enterprises garment factory on September 11. Ahmed had compiled a song titled ‘Pukaar’ for those who had perished in the flames.

“This is not a concert - it’s a wakeup call,” he roared to the hundreds of people who had turned up to the Labour Square ground in SITE, curious to see what he put together for them. As he began to sing, everybody in the ground stood up and silently held the pictures of their loved ones aloft as Ahmed worked the stage for two hours and sang the new song five times. During the final performance, everybody sang along.



During the breaks between songs, he asked the labourers to stand united, saying that while there are many political parties wrangling with one another over their own issues, there is no powerful group to advocate workers’ rights. “We will bring a revolution through this song which will change the lives of labourers for the better,” he said.

“There are many problems plaguing their lives and they can only be addressed if all of them stand united.”

A camera crew recorded the event and the footage will be used in the video for the song. Jawad said that he will perform the song in other industrial areas of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2013.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>A noble cause: With a new song, singer Jawad Ahmad shifts focus</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/485936/a-noble-cause-with-a-new-song-singer-jawad-ahmad-shifts-focus</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/485936/a-noble-cause-with-a-new-song-singer-jawad-ahmad-shifts-focus#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 28 Dec 12 21:35:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=485936</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Renowned vocalist vows to devote his skills for the betterment of the working class.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The concert may have been put off for a day but pop singer Jawad Ahmad is focused. “I have decided to sing for the working class of the country because I myself belong to this class,” he said as he briefed the media at Hotel Mehran on Friday about his latest song - composed in tribute to the Baldia factory workers, who died in a tragic fire on September 11.

The renowned vocalist will perform his newest tune “Mein Bhi Insaan Hoon” at the Labour Square Ground in SITE on Monday. The concert was originally scheduled to be held on December 30 but was postponed to December 31 over unexplained reasons.

Ahmad has now decided to focus his skills for the betterment of labourers. The lyrics of the song which express the feelings of the working people are his own creation. “The song is more than [just] a song. It’s a call and we will take it as a source of awareness for 85 per cent people of the country - the working class,” he told reporters.



Ahmad, who first gained attention through his song “Allah Meray Dil kay Andar”, spoke at length about the “class difference” in the world and termed it a “real” problem in the Pakistani society also. “All the other differences may disappear at one stage or the other, but the difference between the poor and rich remains.”

The aim of the song is to create awareness regarding the rights of the labour class to save them from such incidents in the future, the singer replied to a question regarding fundraising and compensation for the victims’ families. “There’s no need for new labour laws but to implement the existing ones.”

The video of the song will be shot when Ahmad performs with the factory workers and the victims’ families on Monday. He added concerts will be organised in 10 different cities to inform the working people about their rights.

The factory owners, the government and the society are to be blamed for the poor situation of the working class in the country, said Karamat Ali, the executive director of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler). The not-for-profit organisation is supporting Jawad Ahmad and had asked him to compose a song for the Baldia fire victims.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Baldia factory fire: Court calls for report on forensic tests</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/481888/baldia-factory-fire-court-calls-for-report-on-forensic-tests</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/481888/baldia-factory-fire-court-calls-for-report-on-forensic-tests#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 19 Dec 12 21:19:18 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ppi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=481888</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Factory workers and human rights organisations have taken the owners  to court.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Sindh High Court has called for a detailed report on whether the various mandatory forensic tests at the Baldia factory fire site were carried out or not.

The division bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqir, was hearing a petition on Wednesday seeking a judicial inquiry of the fire at Ali Enterprises, where more than 250 people were burnt alive on September 11.

The Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan among some factory workers and human rights organisations have taken the owners to court over their alleged negligence that led to the tragedy.

Various tests were to be carried out at the factory after the blaze but the authorities have yet to disclose if they have done any such forensic tests, argued Amir Raza Naqvi, the factory owners’ advocate.

He also gave the court a sealed envelope containing the details of the factory owners’ assets. The judges made the envelope a part of the record but said the decision to disclose the details shall be taken later.



Faisal Siddique, on behalf of the petitioners, stated that the inquiry commission’s report has not been submitted by officials despite the court directives.

While Shafi Muhammad Memon, the additional advocate general, stated that the government has not received any such report, the petitioners’ lawyer ruled out his contention, saying the report has in fact been delivered to the government by the commission formally.

The judges directed the additional advocate general to submit the report within one week.

Siddique also bemoaned that complete details of the compensation granted or announced for the families of factory fire victims have not been given by the respondents concerned despite court order. The judges also directed them to provide full details regarding the compensation as ordered earlier.

When the issue of some victims of factory fire still unidentified came up, the judges observed that the DNA reports of the victims have not yet been made available. The investigation officer replied that seven samples sent to a laboratory in Islamabad were returned, asking for fresh samples.

The judges again ordered the authorities to draw samples in supervision of competent professionals so that they may not be rejected in the future. The court also called for the DNA reports to be submitted within two weeks.

The hearing was put off till January 10 next year.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Baldia Factory Fire: Court dismisses bail application of two security guards</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/477146/baldia-factory-fire-court-dismisses-bail-application-of-two-security-guards</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/477146/baldia-factory-fire-court-dismisses-bail-application-of-two-security-guards#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 08 Dec 12 21:27:23 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=477146</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Counsel for the guards, Muhammad Tamim Khan, says that he could not get hold of the grounds for the denial of bail.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A district and sessions court dismissed on Saturday the bail applications of two security guards of the Baldia garment factory.


The fifth additional district and sessions judge, West, Abdullah Channah, dismissed the bail-after-arrest applications of Ali Muhammad and Fazal Mehmood, and reserved the verdict.

The counsel for the guards, Muhammad Tamim Khan, said that the applications were denied around noon, but he could not get hold of the grounds on which the judge took that decision.

Khan will receive copies of the judgment on Monday, after which he said, he will file an application for bail in the Sindh High Court.

The police had arrested the guards on charges of their involvement in the factory fire that took over 250 lives in September this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Hoping to prevent another Baldia-like tragedy, experts hash out recommendations</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/476769/hoping-to-prevent-another-baldia-like-tragedy-experts-hash-out-recommendations</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/476769/hoping-to-prevent-another-baldia-like-tragedy-experts-hash-out-recommendations#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 08 Dec 12 02:27:01 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=476769</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The labour dept will issue its plan of action next month.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Industrial accidents happen all over the world, but it amounts to a criminal act if the government turns a blind eye to such incidents. On the other hand, the Sindh government tackled the fallout from the Baldia Town factory fire tragedy in a prompt manner.

These views were expressed by Francesco d’Ovidio, country director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as he was attending a consultation for formulating a plan of action to prevent industrial disasters in the future. The session was jointly organised by the ILO, the Sindh Labour Department, Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) and the Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) on Thursday.

PWF general secretary Zahoor Awan stressed on the importance of factory owners properly registering their workers, and added that they should “not treat workers like machines”. Unregistered workers at the ill-fated Ali Enterprises in Baldia Town had created a host of problems for the government and nongovernmental organisations, as they were not sure how many workers were present in the factory when the file broke out. The participants also observed that when contracts are awarded to third parties, then the problem of unregistered workers rises.

While quoting a media report, Sindh labour secretary Arif Elahi said that the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) had issued 38,000 power connections to industrial units in the city, when the number of registered factories in Karachi is closer to 5,000. “We have 7,000 registered factories in the entire province, and therefore this [KESC figure] is ridiculous,” said Elahi.



When it came to discussing factory inspections, Elahi said that the government needed help from the private sector in this regard. He also complained on the occasion that the labour department is understaffed, and most of its existing officials are also untrained. Despite all these problems, we have registered 1,000 new factories in Sindh during the last two months, boasted Elahi.

While talking about the Baldia fire tragedy, d’Ovidio told The Express Tribune that the ILO and the provincial government had provided immediate support to the families of the victims. The next step involved making sure that such disasters do not happen in the future, and ILO has provided competence-based training to 400 people from families who were affected by the Baldia incident.



The recommendations that came out after the session included providing training to factory inspectors, and updating the labour policy and the Factory Act. The government was also told to ensure that relevant labour laws that are already on the books get implemented. The labour secretary then announced that his department will use these recommendations when it launches a fresh plan of action next month.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Families try to prove that loved ones were lost in fire</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/475773/families-try-to-prove-that-loved-ones-were-lost-in-fire</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/475773/families-try-to-prove-that-loved-ones-were-lost-in-fire#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 05 Dec 12 20:37:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saad.hasan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=475773</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Father says his son was working at the garment factory in Baldia Town when fire broke out.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Syed Nazeef Shah believes his son is dead - for all he knows is that young Obaidullah was working at Ali Enterprises on September 11, 2012 when a raging fire killed more than 250 people at the factory.

But what he does not have is closure as his son’s body was never found and the DNA test reports came back without any answer. Without proof, he cannot get a death certificate issued as well. Obaidullah reportedly joined the factory two weeks before the fire broke out but when asked for documents that could verify his employment, his father hands over irrelevant papers such as a matriculation certificate instead of a company card.

The only verification Shah can offer is through his neighbours and other residents, such as the shopkeepers and the bus conductors, who he says can vouch that Obaidullah worked at the factory.

“I have visited leaders of three political parties as well as the deputy commissioner for compensation. All of them turned me back saying that I should bring the body first,” said Shah who lives in one of the impoverished colonies of Baldia Town. “We deserve compensation. But what am I suppose to do now?”

Families still waiting 

Shah’s son is among the 61 people who, as claimed by their families, were working in the factory and are still missing, their remains apparently disintegrated and washed away from the premises.

Despite almost three months gone by, 28 bodies are still lying in the morgue as authorities try to establish their identities through DNA tests.



While the matter is pending before courts, anxious families of victims whose bodies were never found shared the problems they have been facing at a press conference at Karachi Press Club.

Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER)’s executive director, Karamat Ali, said that the lack of proper records of workers shows negligence on part of the government and the factory owners.

“We could have known how many people were working in the factory at the time of the fire if the employees were registered with social security institutions, such as the Employees Old Age Benefit Institution,” he said.

PILER and other NGOs have approached the courts to come up with a way to verify these claims by families. Families of the victims who were identified have each received Rs900,000 in compensation.

Foul play

According to Ali, affected families, some of whom had changed their statements before the courts, were being intimidated by the factory owners. “Faisal Siddiqui, one of the lawyers representing the families, has even received warnings to drop the case. Government must look into this as well.” He alleged that powerful industrialists were using their financial strength to influence the investigations.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Officer given two days to justify guards’ arrest</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/471896/officer-given-two-days-to-justify-guards%e2%80%99-arrest</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/471896/officer-given-two-days-to-justify-guards%e2%80%99-arrest#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 12 20:47:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[rizwan.shehzad]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=471896</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Police had arrested two security guards for their alleged involvement in the fire.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A district and sessions court hearing the Baldia factory fire case has directed the investigating officer to bring witnesses and provide proof within two days justifying the arrest of two security guards of the factory.

The police had arrested two guards, Ali Muhammad and Fazal Mehmood, on their alleged involvement in the factory fire which claimed over 250 lives in September this year.

The guards’ lawyer, Muhammad Tamim Khan, urged the court to release the suspects on bail as the police have not produced any evidence against them since their arrest and kept them behind bars for no reason.

Putting off the hearing until November 29, the fifth additional district and sessions judge (West), Abdullah Channah, ordered the prosecutor and investigating officer, Jahanzaib Khan, to provide evidence against the suspects within two days.



Meanwhile, three of the four government officials, who have been included in the judicial inquiry, appeared before the second judicial magistrate west, Sohail Ahmed Mashori, and submitted their bail before arrest papers.

The government officials had obtained interim bail from Abdullah Channah after the judicial magistrate had ordered to include labour director, Zahid Qurban Shaikh, SITE managing director, Rashid Ahmed Solangi, civil defence additional controller, Ghulam Akbar, and Karachi Region-II electric inspector, Amjad Ali, in the trial as the incident had taken place due their negligence. The judge adjourned the hearing to December 7.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Judge refuses to hear Baldia factory owners’ bail plea</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/469916/judge-refuses-to-hear-baldia-factory-owners%e2%80%99-bail-plea</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/469916/judge-refuses-to-hear-baldia-factory-owners%e2%80%99-bail-plea#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 22 Nov 12 20:53:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=469916</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Factory owners’ lawyer said his clients are aggrieved as they lost their precious asset.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A Sindh High Court (SHC) judge refused to hear the bail plea of the owners of the Baldia garment factory on Thursday.


Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila, two of the three owners of the Ali Enterprises factory that caught fire in September and killed over 250 workers, had gone to court seeking bail. Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi declined to even hear their application for a post-arrest bail.

The police had booked them under charges of murder, mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage and attempt to murder.

In the bail application, their lawyer, Amir Raza Naqvi, had argued that the investigation was faulty and full of errors. Thus, the police implicated the factory owners to victimise them, he said. “The police have forced the witnesses to record their statements against the factory owners, who are already aggrieved as they lost their precious asset - their factory,” he said.



The lawyer had pleaded to the high court to extent relief of bail to his clients, who were implicated in the case and were behind bars.

On Monday, Justice Rizvi had issued notices to the prosecutor general and others after hearing the initial arguments on the bail application. When the case was again taken up on Thursday, the judge declined to hear the plea saying, “not before me”. The bail application is likely to be fixed before another bench soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2012. ]]>
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