Supreme Court acquits two MQM workers in Baldia factory fire case

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

The judgment was announced by a three-member bench headed by Justice Shahzad Malik after hearing appeals filed by Abdul Rehman alias Bhola and Zubair alias Chariya. The court allowed their petitions and extended to them the benefit of the doubt, holding that the evidence and legal issues in the case entitled the two men to acquittal.

The bench also disposed of a separate petition seeking removal of certain judicial observations, declaring it infructuous. The court said that once the original judgment had been set aside, the related remarks no longer retained legal effect.

Case background and court observations

The case relates to the September 11, 2012 fire at the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Baldia Town, in which more than 260 workers were burnt alive in a multi-storey building. The incident was described as the worst industrial disaster in the country’s history.

During the proceedings, the Supreme Court pointed to a number of legal and evidentiary shortcomings in the prosecution case. It also raised questions about certain confessional statements and issues linked to the alleged political affiliations of some of the accused.

The bench further rejected applications seeking to make the heirs of deceased victims parties to the proceedings. The court observed that allowing a large number of parties to join the matter could prolong the litigation unnecessarily. Justice Malik remarked that the case had become more complicated because political and legal dimensions had been tied together, while Justice Shakeel Ahmad noted contradictions between some statements and the evidence on record.

Earlier rulings and appeal arguments

In 2023, the SHC dismissed appeals against the death sentences awarded to the two MQM activists after a special Anti-Terrorism Court had maintained the capital punishment imposed on them. In its 46-page judgment, the SHC said the forensic report showed that the factory fire had not been caused by a short circuit. It also held that evidence and witness accounts established that Zubair Chariya had set the factory on fire.

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

The appeals argued that from the date of the incident until 2015, neither police nor factory owners lodged any complaint or registered a case regarding the alleged extortion. They also contended that the prosecution failed to place on record a report issued by Karachi University’s Science Laboratory to establish that the blaze had been caused by a chemical substance.