Pakistani Anti terrorism court has sentenced two to death for their role in the worst fire in Pakistan’s industrial history, the Baldia factory fire. Abdul Rahman ‘Bhola’ and Zubair ‘Charya’ were two MQM workers who became infamous for their involvement in the act of arson that claimed over 260 lives. The sentencing did not stop there, four individuals namely Shahrukh, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood and Ali Mohammad were given life in prison. Four individuals, specifically, MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui, Umar Hasan Qadri, Dr Abdul Sattar Khan and Iqbal Adeeb Khanum were acquitted for want of evidence.
سانحہ بلدیہ کیس میں رکن رابطہ کمیٹی رؤف صدیقی کی بریت ثابت کرتا ہے کہ اس کیس سے ایم کیوایم پاکستان کا کوئی تعلق نہیں،ترجمان @MQMPKOfficial
سانحہ بلدیہ کے لواحقین کے سے شدید ہمدردی ہے کہ انہیں آٹھ برس تک فیصلے کا انتظارکرناپڑا ،ترجمان ایم کیوایم پاکستان #BaldiaFactoryCase
1/2— Faisal Subzwari (@faisalsubzwari) September 22, 2020
MQM Pakistan welcomed the news as their spokesperson Faisal Sabzwari tweeted his condolences to the victims alongside a policy statement, “[We] make it clear that patronage of any anti-social and law-breaking elements neither was nor will ever be a policy of MQM-Pakistan.” Rauf Siddiqui, on the other hand, held a press conference shortly after the release of the court’s judgement in which he related his gratefulness to the court while expressing his grief and horror for the fire.