MQM workers’ acquittal: SC dismisses Sindh govt’s plea to review June 10 verdict
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court dismissed the Sindh government’s plea to review the June 10 judgment acquitting two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers allegedly involved in the Baldia Factory fire case.
A three-member SC bench, headed by Justice Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan and comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Shakeel Ahmad, heard the review petitions on Wednesday. The bench also dismissed a separate petition moved to expunge remarks regarding the MQM.
Additional Prosecutor General Sindh Saleem Akhtar appeared before the court and presented arguments.
The apex court, in June this year, by giving the benefit of doubt, had overturned the conviction of Abdul Rehman alias Bhola and Zubair alias Chariya. The Sindh government had then filed a review petition against that order.
The Sindh High Court had upheld the death sentence awarded to them by an anti-terrorism court in September 2020 for allegedly setting the factory on fire. Over 260 workers, including 16 who could not be identified, were burnt alive when the multi-storey Ali Enterprises garment factory was set on fire in Baldia Town on Sept 11, 2012, in what became the deadliest industrial blaze in Pakistan’s history.
On July 1, Sindh Prosecutor General Shabbir Shah filed a review petition in the SC’s Karachi Registry against the judgment ordering the acquittal and release of the accused in the Baldia factory fire case.
In the petition, the Sindh government requested the SC to reconsider its judgment. It raised the legal question of whether Article 188 of the Constitution applies to a judgment that is “contrary to the facts and the law”. The Sindh government argued that the judgment “suffers from the defect of ignoring eyewitness, medical and other evidence”.
The petition also questioned whether, under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the legal heirs of the victims could challenge the acquittal of convicted persons. It further raised objections regarding the application of Articles 4 and 17 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984.
It said that the judgment also ignored the evidence of injured witnesses and experts regarding the use of chemicals to start the fire.
In 2023, the SHC dismissed appeals challenging the death sentences awarded to the two MQM activists after a special Anti-Terrorism Court had upheld the capital punishment handed down to them.
In its 46-page judgment, the SHC said the forensic report clearly showed that the factory fire had not been caused by a short circuit. It further held that evidence and witness statements confirmed that Zubair Chariya had set fire to the factory.
According to the case record, Abdul Rehman was associated with the MQM as a sector in-charge, while Zubair was an active worker of the town municipality. Both were present at the factory when the fire broke out.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026