The Baldia factory fire case was being heard by the constitutional bench, which was presided over by Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha. The issue concerned the return of convicted criminal Hammad Siddiqui and other defendants to Pakistan for trial.
The extradition of Hammad Siddiqui was mandated by the court. Why had the defendants who killed 266 people not been repatriated to the nation? Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha said
The court also questioned who was giving the accused, who is facing grave accusations, a place to stay.
The constitutional bench of the SHC asked what steps were taken to comply with its orders and stated that it had also ordered the barring of Hamad Siddiqui’s passport and CNIC.
The court was informed by Sindh’s Assistant Advocate General that the federal government bears the responsibility for the accused’s return.
“It is the Ministry of Interior’s incompetence,” the court said.
More than 260 people were killed in a deadly industrial fire that occurred in Baldia Town, Karachi, on September 11, 2012.
The court has ruled that the defendants Khurram Nisar, Taqi Haider Shah, and Hammad Siddiqui’s passports and national identity cards be blocked.
On September 22, 2020, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) rendered a decision that sentenced Zubair, also known as Chariya, and Abdul Rehman, also known as Bhola, to death for their roles in the September 11, 2012, factory fire in Baldia Town, Karachi, which claimed the lives of over 260 people.
For their roles in the incident, the ATC sentenced four workers from the factory—Shahrukh, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood, and Ali Mohammad—to life in prison. Accused Fazal Ahmed passed away while incarcerated.
