Wednesday, 23 September, 2020 I 4 Safar, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 84 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition
Court hands death sentenCe to two MQM workers in Baldia faCtory fire Case KARACHI
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STAFF REPORT
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N anti-terrorism court in Karachi on Tuesday handed death sentence to two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers for their involvement in the eightyear-old baldia factory fire case. The fire ravaged the textile factory complex in Karachi’s baldia Town in 2012, killing more than 250 workers trapped behind locked doors. The incident was initially deemed as an accident but was later termed as an act of arson. In a short verdict, which was initially scheduled to be announced on September 17 but was delayed, the court declared that baldia Town sector-in-charge Abdul Rehman alias bhola and Zubair alias Charya set the complex ablaze because of the non-payment of extortion money by the owners. bhola was arrested in 2016 from Thailand through the Interpol. He was brought back to the country by the Federal Investigation Agency and later handed over to the police for further legal proceedings. The court, however, acquitted MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui, then provincial minister for commerce and industries, his counsel Abid Zaman said. Three others, including Iqbal Adeel Khanum and Hyderabad-based businessmen dr Abdul Sattar Khan, were also acquitted by the court. The factory’s four gatekeepers — Shahrukh, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood and Ali Mohammad — were convicted for facilitation. The court has yet to release its detailed verdict. ‘MQM-P NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR INCIDENT’: MQMPakistan leader Faisal Subzwari, in a tweet, quoted a spokesperson for his party as saying that the acquittal of Rauf Siddiqui, a member of the Rabita Committee, in the case “proves that MQM-Pakistan has nothing to do with this case”. The spokesperson expressed sympathies with the victims and their relatives for having to wait eight years for the verdict and expressed the hope that the country’s higher courts will ensure complete justice for them. “[We] make it clear that patronage of any
Coronavirus in
Pakistan
CONFIRMED CASES:
306,886
LAST UPDATED AT 7:42 AM ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2020
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
4
RECOVERED:
NEW CASES:
582
DEATHS:
293,159 6,424 SINDH:
134,243 KP:
37,387 AJK/GB:
PUNJAB:
98,487 BALOCHISTAN:
14,499
ISLAMABAD:
2,550/3,513 16,207
MQM-P dISTANCES ITSELF FROM THE INCIdENT, SAYS IT WASN’T RESPONSIbLE
NCOC allows resumption of secondary classes from tomorrow ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
anti-social and law-breaking elements neither was nor will ever be a policy of MQM-Pakistan,” the spokesperson added, according to Subzwari. Addressing a press conference shortly after the verdict was announced, MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui said that he had resigned from his post when the incident occurred. “People do not let go of a cleaner’s job [but] I had resigned from my post,” he said. He added that he was thankful for the decision announced by the court. “To this day, I can still hear the screams of the victim’s families,” he further said. The MQM-P leader said that he was unable to forget the night of the incident, which would come to his mind every time he had to appear
in court. 400 WITNESSES TESTIFIED: The prosecution had rested its case after recording material evidence including forensic, ballistic and chemical analysis reports and testimonies of 400 witnesses against the accused. The prosecution has since given up 369 witnesses for being “unnecessary”. According to prosecutor Sajid Mehboob Shaikh, a total of 264 people perished in the fire that engulfed the multi-storey building of the readymade garments manufacturing unit. The number included bodies of 17 people who were charred beyond recognition. All the accused persons have denied the allegations levelled by the prosecution, which is led by the Rangers instead of police.
IHC tells govt to ensure Nawaz’s return ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday informed the government that it had allowed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader, a convict, to go abroad without informing the court and now it was their responsibility to ensure Nawaz Sharif’s return. Additional Attorney General Tariq Mehmood Khokhar addressed a bench comprising of IHC Justices Aamer Farooq and Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and said the Foreign Office (FO) implemented without delay the court-issued nonbailable arrest warrants through the Pakistan High Commission in the UK. “A man named Yaqoob refused to receive the warrants,” Khokhar told the court. “The federal government allowed the convicted criminal to go abroad,” Justice Kayani observed, adding that the government had put Nawaz’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL) but had later removed it. “The government should have at least informed this court,” the judge said. “We have to decide on the appeal and we are waiting for the appearance [of the convict].” “We will not pass an order seeking the return of a convicted man. You gave him permission to go abroad hence it’s up to you now to take steps to ensure his return,” he added. “In Pakistan, a convicted man left the country and no one bothered to ask or tell the court,” the IHC lamented. The additional attorney general also re-
sponded in affirmative to Justice Kayani’s question on whether the address was that of London’s Avenfield apartments, saying it was the PML-N supremo’s son, Hasan Nawaz, who “received the warrants sent through the Royal Mail”. Speaking to a local news outlet, Hasan denied receiving any document from the High Commission. “I have never used SS in my name; the signature shows ‘Hassan,’ which is not me. I do not sit in the reception of my building to receive mail for 25 flats in the building. Nawaz had earlier informed the IHC that he couldn’t return to Pakistan and through a review petition against the order that had directed him to surrender before the court by September 10. The petition was filed by Nawaz’s lawyers, Khawaja Harris and Munawar Iqbal. The application included recent medical reports and requests the court to go ahead with the hearings in the presence of the deposed prime minister’s counsels. Nawaz had informed the court that the undertaking that was taken from him had included the condition that the government would first check in on his health. He had also informed the court that the federal government had not made any efforts in this matter. “The federal government does not have any authentic information about my health,” Nawaz had claimed in his petition. He had also added that the doctors have not issued any certificates that would declare him “fit” to return home.
The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has allowed the resumption of secondary classes from September 23 after the daily number of coronavirus infections continued to drop. Following the directive, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas on Monday announced the reopening of classes in schools across the province from Wednesday. Raas, however, stressed on the importance of following the guidelines devised by the government to prevent a feared second wave. “It is imperative for everyone to follow SOPs [standard operating procedures] issued by [the] School Education department Punjab,” the minister tweeted. Earlier in the day, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government also decided to reopen schools from tomorrow. “We have decided to open schools for class 6 to 8 from tomorrow Insha Allah in [the] second phase across KP,” provincial Education Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai said on Twitter. Earlier this month, the federal government, following a dip in fresh infections, had decided to reopen in phases the educational institutions across the country. The institutions were closed down in March following the Covid-19 outbreak in the country. According to the government plan, classes six, seven and eight were allowed to return to schools on September 23 following a review. Whereas primary schools will be reopened on September 30 in the last phase. All higher education institutions including universities, professional colleges, vocational institutes, as well as classes nine till 12 resumed classes on September 15. Meanwhile, the government continues to close down institutions found violating the SOPs. Last week, the NCOC announced to close 13 such institutions — 10 in KP and three in Sindh — due to “non-compliance with health protocols and disease prevalence.”
more inside
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