Orient labs: ‘Factory owners knew about dangers’

LAHORE: The prosecution completed its arguments on the after-arrest bail pleas of Orient Labs chief executive Zaheer Iqbal and director Zafar Iqbal on Tuesday, submitting that the factory owners should be charged with murder over the collapse of their Multan Road factory in February which claimed 26 lives. After the arguments, Additional District and Sessions Judge Arshad Ali adjourned proceedings for a day. A junior lawyer for the accused sought a lengthier adjournment, saying that the senior counsel was busy, but the judge said that he must respond to the prosecution’s argument on Wednesday.  The prosecution had argued that the factory’s owners should be charged with murder as they had been repeatedly warned about the poor condition of the building, but had done nothing to prevent its collapse.  The prosecutor said; “The accused were well aware about the condition of the factory. Why did they not shift the factory and take concrete measures when various government departments wrote to them and suggested shifting it?” Brothers Zaheer, Zafar and Zubair Iqbal, the owners of Orient Labs, face various charges under the penal code including murder, attempted murder and criminal negligence.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2012.