Karachi garment factory inferno act of terrorism: probe report

The fire at a garment factory in Karachi's Baldia town in September 2012 that killed 289 people was an act of organised terrorism and not an accident, according to a probe report released by the Sindh government in Pakistan on Monday.

The fire at a garment factory in Karachi's Baldia town in September 2012 that killed 289 people was an act of organised terrorism and not an accident, according to a probe report released by the Sindh government in Pakistan on Monday. According to the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report, top leaders of political outfit Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) -- Hamad Siddiqui and Rehman Bhola -- were involved in the act.

According to the report, the Ali Enterprises garment factory was set on fire after the owners refused to pay a extortion money of Rs 20 crore. The factory fire was not an accident, it was an act of terrorism, the 27-page report stated. Around 289 workers, mostly women, were burnt alive, while several were injured in the four-storey factory building on September 11, 2012.

The JIT in its report said that the Baldia factory case was handled in a non-professional manner and from day one it was dealt with in such a way that the group involved in the act of terrorism benefitted. It further said that certain elements tried to influence the investigation internally and externally and added that the act of terrorism was presented in the first information report (FIR) in such a manner as if it was a normal act of murder, the Express Tribune reported.

"The police, being under pressure, handled the case in a partial manner," the report said. The JIT called for registering a new FIR of the incident and include the names of Rahman Bhola, Hammad Siddiqui and other accused.

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