— DawnNews

Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) chief Mustafa Kamal denied that his party had any association with Abdul Rehman alias Bhola, a suspect who was arrested in connection with the Baldia factory fire in Bangkok on Saturday.

"Bhola was never a member of PSP, we categorically deny this claim. Anyone can download and fill the party form off the internet," Kamal told reporters upon arriving in Lahore.

Kamal, was in Lahore to meet party officebearers and workers, clarified that the allegations relating to the factory fire against Rehman were levied when he was a member of the Mutahida Qaumi Movement, adding that PSP did not even exist at the time.

Rehman, 46, was detained at a hotel in the red light district Nana area of the capital on Friday evening. He was a sector in-charge of the MQM at the time of the Baldia fire.

The fire at the Ali Enterprises factory in September 2012 was one of Pakistan's worst industrial disasters in which 250 workers were burnt alive.

A judicial probe into the blaze was damning, pointing to a lack of emergency exits, poor safety training for workers, the packing in of machinery and the failure of government inspectors to spot any of these faults.

Initially the fire was believed to be an accident but a Joint Investigation Team ‘reinvestigating’ the case this year termed the incident a “planned sabotage and terrorist activity”.

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