SC dismisses Sindh govt's plea against acquittal of two MQM workers in Baldia factory fire case

The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed the Sindh government's petition seeking to review its decision overturning the convictions of two MQM workers involved in the 2012 Baldia Town factory fire in Karachi. The factory, owned by Ali Enterprises, was engulfed in flames on September 11, 2012, resulting in the deaths of over 260 workers, with 16 unidentified victims.

In June 2023, the SC overturned the convictions of Abdul Rehman alias Bhola and Zubair alias Chariya, who faced charges of murder, extortion, arson, and terrorism. The two convicts had challenged the 2023 ruling from the Sindh High Court that had upheld their death sentences from September 2020. The SC's three-judge bench, comprising Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmed Khan, Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, and Justice Shakeel Ahmed, rejected the Sindh government's petition to revisit the June 10 decision.

The bench also dismissed a separate petition requesting the removal of remarks from the June 10 judgment related to MQM. The SC found errors in the Sindh government's petition, including an alleged lack of consideration for witness testimonies and the joint investigation team's report. The June 10 SC judgment described the Baldia Town factory fire as one of the most tragic and heart-rending disasters in Pakistan's history.

The court emphasized the need for conclusive proof and cautioned against convicting innocent individuals based on presumptions or unreliable evidence.