Baldia factory fire incident: SHC dissatisfied over efforts to repatriate Hammad Siddiqui

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court’s (SHC) constitutional bench on Monday expressed displeasure over the efforts to bring Hammad Siddiqui, a prime accused and proclaimed offender in Baldia factory fire case, back to country.

The constitutional bench headed by Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha was hearing a case pertaining to Baldia factory fire with regard to bringing proclaimed offender Hammad Siddiqui and other accused back to Pakistan to face the trial.

“The court had ordered the extradition of Hammad Siddiqui. Why the accused, involved in the killing of 266 people, had not been brought back to the country,” Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha remarked

The court also asked who was providing shelter to the accused, who faces serious allegations.

The SHC’s constitutional bench added that it had also ordered the blocking of Hamad Siddiqui’s CNIC and passport, asking as to what measures were taken to comply with its directives.

The Assistant Advocate General of Sindh told the court that the federal government is responsible for bringing back the accused.

“It is incompetence of the Ministry of Interior,” the court remarked.

Deadly factory fire in Karachi’s Baldia Town on September 11, 2012, had claimed lives of over 260 people.

The court had ordered blocking passports and national identity cards of accused Hammad Siddiqui, Taqi Haider Shah and Khurram Nisar.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) had handed down verdict on September 22, 2020, sentencing Zubair aka Chariya and Abdul Rehman aka Bhola to death for their role in the deaths of over 260 people on September 11, 2012, in deadly factory fire in Karachi’s Baldia Town.

The ATC had awarded life sentence to factory’s four employees – Shahrukh, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood and Ali Mohammad for their role in the incident. An accused Fazal Ahmed died during imprisonment.