KARACHI / ISLAMABAD: On Monday, the Sindh High Court (SHC) dismissed the appeals filed by Rehman Bhola and Zubair Chariya from MQM, upholding their death sentences in the Baldia factory fire case.
The division bench of the high court has issued a verdict, declaring the life sentences of four factory employees – Shahrukh, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood, and Ali Mohammad – as void. They made this decision as part of their review of appeals filed by the convicts challenging their sentences.
Furthermore, in addition to this development, the court has acquitted MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui, who was serving as the provincial minister for commerce and industries at the time, as well as Abdul Sattar, Iqbal Adeeb Khanum, and Umar Hassan of the charges. The basis for their exoneration is the insufficiency of evidence.
It’s noteworthy that the court has also rejected government appeals aimed at challenging the acquittal of these four accused individuals.
The bench, after completing arguments from both sides, had reserved its verdict on the appeals on August 29.
Baldia Factory Fire Verdict: Death and Life Sentences
On September 22, 2020, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) issued a verdict sentencing Zubair, also known as Chariya, and Abdul Rehman, also known as Bhola, to death. They received these sentences for actively playing roles in the tragic factory fire that caused the deaths of over 260 people on September 11, 2012, in Karachi’s Baldia Town.
The ATC had also awarded life sentences to four factory employees: Shahrukh, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood, and Ali Mohammad. It should be noted that one of the accused, Fazal Ahmed, passed away during his imprisonment.
In the tragic factory fire on September 11, 2012, 264 people lost their lives, and over 300 people injured. A bench of the high court had accepted the appeals of five convicts for hearing, challenging their sentences in the factory fire case.
