Baldia factory fire case: Police ordered to decide former MQM minister’s fate in two weeks

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court directed on Saturday the police to expedite the process and decide the fate of a former Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) minister, Rauf Siddiqui, in the Baldia factory fire case within two weeks.

The ATC-VII judge conducted the hearing of the case inside prison. Two incarcerated accused, Abdul Rehman alias Bhola and Muhammad Zubair, and seven suspects on interim bail – MQM lawmaker Rauf Siddiqui, Shahrukh Latif, Arshad Mehmood, Muhammad Mansoor, Fazal Ahmed Jaan, Ali Muhammad and Umer Hassan – were present.

During the hearing, Advocate Abid Zaman, the counsel representing Siddiqui, an MQM MPA from PS-114, pleaded before the judge said that his client’s name was not mentioned in the FIR or the charge sheet but he was still being summoned to be part of the trial.

He argued that his client was being victimised for his political affiliation and was not involved in the case. Zaman said putting a person under investigation for no reason was a sheer violation of his basic human rights.

On the other hand, Special Public Prosecutor Sheikh Sajid Mehmood, who represents the Rangers, told the court that the investigators were working on Siddiqui’s case and the court will be informed as soon as the investigation is concluded.

The ATC-VII judge directed the investigation officer, Raja Jahangir, to complete the process to decide whether or not Siddiqui will be part of the case by the next hearing on April 22.

Two-hundred-and-sixty-people were killed and dozens others wounded in the fire at Ali Enterprises garments factory located in the Baldia Town neighbourhood of Karachi on September 11, 2012. The case is being heard in an ATC since it was termed as a planned arson attack over non-payment of extortion nearly three years after the incident. Leaders and workers of MQM have been assigned a key role in the alleged arson.

Meanwhile, a civil lawsuit is also pending in a German court against the major purchaser of the garments made at the ill-fated factory for allegedly overlooking the workers safety and wellbeing.

Source: The Express Tribune