A court in Karachi has sentenced two men to death for arson after finding them guilty of starting Pakistan’s deadliest industrial fire, which killed some 260 people in 2012.
The men were found to have set a garment factory ablaze because its owners had not paid extortion money.
They were affiliated with the MQM party, which was in power in the city at the time, the court said.
Hundreds were trapped inside the building which had no fire exits.
Prosecutors took evidence from more than 400 witnesses. The investigation into the fire called it an act of organised terrorism.
Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition. Others died or broke bones trying to jump to safety.
What happened in the fire?
The blaze at the Ali Enterprises factory in the Baldia town area of the commercial capital began in the afternoon of 11 September 2012 and raged for 15 hours. Some 40 firefighting vehicles attended.
More than 24 hours after the inferno began rescuers were still battling to reach the dead and injured inside. In all, about 500 workers had been inside the factory when the fire broke out.
Many workers jumped from the upper floors. Others could not because of metal grilles on the windows. Survivors said doorways and stairs were stuffed with stacks of finished garments.
Officials said the factory was crammed with combustible materials, including piles of clothes and chemicals.
People trapped inside the building frantically rang their friends and relatives as flames engulfed it.
Outside, crowds of shouting and sobbing relatives gathered for news as rescuers pulled out body after body.
In its verdict, the court in Karachi said 264 people had been killed in the fire, and 60 injured.
What has been the reaction to the verdicts?
Some relatives told BBC Urdu’s Riaz Sohail they felt justice had been only half done – as the factory owners, Arshad and Shahid Bhaila, had not also been held responsible for the loss of life.
The brothers were initially arrested but later released on bail after which they moved abroad. They were questioned by investigators via video link from Dubai.
BBC
