Baldia factory fire victims’ families still awaiting justice, says Jamaat-e-Islami leader

The heirs of Baldia garments factory fire victims have been waiting for justice and compensation for the last seven years, said Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi emir Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman on Monday.

Addressing a ceremony to distribute household articles, including blankets, at the Idara Noor-e-Haq under the Public Aid Committee of the party among the families of 259 fire victims, who were burnt to death at the factory on September 11, 2012, he said the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf had done nothing in this respect and had made getting compensation a painful and tiring process for the families.

“We have asked a court of law for justice and are still standing with the families in their hard times and assure them that they will not leave them high and dry,” he added.

No one involved in this heinous crime had yet been punished and the promises for justice made by successive governments were simply eyewash, the JI leader Naeem deplored. He appealed to philanthropists and citizens to come forward and help these families living in distress.

Public Aid Committee president and advocate Saifuddin demanded a one-go compensation payment, saying there were reports that the administration was creating hurdles in this process.

Aid Committee secretary Najib Ayubi said the committee was in constant contact with victims’ families and would continue its efforts to get justice for them. A number of families attended the ceremony and thanked the JI for its kind gesture. The Baldia factory fire is considered to be one of the deadliest industrial catastrophes, in which around 49 workers also received burn injuries.