Baldia fire suspect namesake wrongly put on ECL

Trader seeks notice for FIA to remove his name

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has sought reports from the Rangers and police authorities on Friday regarding a trader whose name was put on the Exit Control List (ECL) and is the namesake of Abdul Rehman alias Bhola, a prime suspect in the Baldia factory fire case.
They have been directed to present their reports confirming whether or not the trader is the actual suspect who had allegedly set fire to the garment factory, resulting in the loss of 259 workers’ lives in September 2012.
Abdul Rehman, the trader, had approached the court seeking a notice for the Federal Investigation Agency to remove his name from the ECL, which was mistakenly included. He maintained that he was a law abiding citizen who is neither involved in any criminal activity nor is wanted in any criminal case.


The petitioner complained that he had also faced an inquiry in connection with the Baldia factory fire case. However, the investigating agencies cleared him after verifying his mother’s Computerised National Identity Card. Rehman alleged the FIA authorities were not removing his name from the list due to which his business is incurring losses as he cannot travel abroad.
On Friday, a report was filed on behalf of the FIA, which stated that the agency had no authority to put any citizen’s name on the list on its own. It maintained that anyone’s name placed on the ECL is done under the directives from the relevant authorities.
However, the judges expressed their dissatisfaction over the report. They issued notices to the Rangers DG and West DIG to submit their reports, confirming whether or not the petitioner was the actual suspect. They are said to file their reports by December 21.