Top court acquits two MQM workers

Three-judge bench sets aside death sentences in 2012 case

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers in the Baldia Town factory fire case, setting aside the death sentences awarded to them by a trial court and later upheld by the Sindh High Court (SHC).

On September 11, 2012, more than 260 workers were burnt alive in the multi-storey building of the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Baldia Town in what was the worst industrial disaster in the country's history.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Shahzad Malik announced the verdict after hearing appeals filed by Abdul Rehman alias Bhola and Zubair alias Chariya, allowing their petitions and extending them the benefit of the doubt.

The court held that, in light of the evidence and legal issues involved in the case, the accused were entitled to acquittal.

The bench also disposed of a petition seeking the expungement of certain judicial observations, declaring it infructuous.

The court observed that since the original judgment had been set aside, the related remarks automatically ceased to have legal effect.

During the proceedings, the court highlighted several legal and evidentiary weaknesses in the prosecution's case.

Questions were also raised regarding certain confessional statements and issues relating to the alleged political affiliations of some of the accused.

The bench further rejected applications seeking to implead the heirs of the deceased victims as parties to the proceedings. The court observed that allowing a large number of parties to join the case could unnecessarily prolong the litigation process.

Justice Malik remarked that the case had been made more complicated by linking together various political and legal aspects, while Justice Shakeel Ahmad noted clear contradictions between certain statements and the available evidence.

In 2023, the SHC dismissed appeals challenging the death sentences awarded to the two MQM activists after a special Anti-Terrorism Court had upheld the capital punishment handed down to them.

In its 46-page judgment, the SHC said the forensic report clearly showed that the factory fire had not been caused by a short circuit. It further held that evidence and witness statements confirmed that Zubair Chariya had set fire to the factory.

According to the case record, Abdul Rehman was associated with the MQM as a sector in-charge, while Zubair was an active worker of the town municipality. Both were present at the factory when the fire broke out.

The appeals contended that from the date of occurrence till 2015, the police/factory owners made no complaint nor registered a case for the alleged extortion.

They further pleaded that the prosecution had failed to bring on record a report issued by Karachi University's Science Laboratory to establish that the blaze resulted from a chemical substance.