Get the latest news and updates from Dawn
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the convictions of two MQM workers — Abdul Rehman Bhola, a former sector in-charge in the party’s organisational structure, and Zubair Chariya — for their alleged involvement in the Sept 11, 2012, Baldia factory fire in Karachi, which claimed more than 260 lives.
Headed by Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmed, a three-judge Supreme Court bench, also comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Shakeel Ahmad, set aside the death sentences awarded to the two accused by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on charges of murder, extortion, arson and terrorism, granting them the benefit of the doubt.
The two were sentenced to death for allegedly setting the multi-storey Ali Enterprises garment factory on fire in Baldia Town.
It should be mentioned that in 2023, the Sindh High Court had upheld the death penalty handed down to the two workers and also set aside the life term of four employees of the factory. Later, both the convicts had challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court.
