Orient labs: Cases deferred due to lawyers’ strike

Orient Labs accused of offences in connection with building collapse which killed 26 workers on February 23.

LAHORE: Additional District and Sessions Judge Malik Tariq Mehmood Zargham on Saturday summoned the police record of the Orient Labs factory collapse case for July 9. The judge was expected to decide yesterday the after-arrest bail plea of a director of Orient Labs who is accused of various offences in connection with the building collapse which killed 26 workers on February 23 earlier this year. However, the case was adjourned because of a strike by lawyers in protest against the restoration of the NATO supply lines to Afghanistan through Pakistan. The judge also adjourned the trial of Orient Labs chief executive Zaheer Iqbal and directors Zafar Iqbal and Zubair Iqbal in connection with the factory collapse case for July 9. Brothers Zaheer, Zafar and Zubair Iqbal are accused of offences under Sections 302 (murder), 324 (attempted murder), 290 (public nuisance), 291 (continued public nuisance), 427 (mischief) and 149 (collective responsibility) of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the prosecution, the company was issued several notices to shut down the unsafe factory on Multan Road, but it reopened the sealed building and risked the lives of its workers.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2012.