KARACHI: After years of legal proceedings, the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Baldia Factory fire case has resulted in the release of the primary accused, Rehman aka Bhola and Zubair alias Charya. Both MQM workers walked free from Karachi Central Jail today after serving 14 years in custody.
Sources confirmed that Superintendent of Central Jail Abdul Kareem Abbasi stated that the two individuals were released upon completion of all legal formalities following the Supreme Court’s acquittal. They were then taken directly to MQM’s Bahadurabad headquarters, where several party leaders, including Anees Qaimkhani, Sindh Assembly member Faheem Patni, Shariq Jamal, Farqan Ateeb, and Umair Siddiqui, awaited their arrival.
The landmark ruling in the Baldia Factory case was issued by the Supreme Court Karachi Registry on June 10. A bench, hearing appeals against their death sentences, overturned the capital punishment and acquitted both men in connection with the tragic factory fire in Baldia Town. The lower court had previously convicted them and sentenced them to death, a verdict they challenged at the Supreme Court.
During the hearings, the MQM was represented by Barrister Farogh Naseem and Advocate Hassan Sabir. The defense argued that the prosecution lacked concrete evidence or eyewitness testimony linking the accused to setting the factory ablaze. After careful review of the case, the court accepted their appeals and ordered their release.
The fire at the Baldia Town garment factory in September 2012 remains one of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters, claiming the lives of 256 workers and staff. The case had been ongoing through various courts, with Rehman Bhola and Zubair Charya identified as the main suspects and initially sentenced to death by the trial court.
With the Supreme Court’s verdict clearing them, the case has taken a new turn. Supporters gathered at Bahadurabad to welcome the two men home, while the families of the victims continue to call for justice for the 256 lives lost that day.
