KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan chief Dr Farooq Sattar on Monday demanded a fair, transparent and scientific probe into the Baldia Town factory fire incident so that exemplary punishment can be handed down to those involved in the heinous crime.

Speaking at a press conference here at the party’s temporary headquarters in PIB Colony, he said that a conspiracy was being hatched to frame MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui, who was the provincial minister for industries in 2012 when the Baldia factory incident took place, in the case following the arrest of key suspect Rehman alias Bhola.

“We strongly condemned this inhuman incident in which innocent people were burnt alive. But we want this incident to be investigated on scientific lines and [we want] a transparent probe to know about the real perpetrators,” he added.

Accompanied by Mr Siddiqui and other party leaders, Dr Sattar said that the incident had been investigated by five separate joint investigation teams and none of the JIT reports contained Mr Siddiqui’s name.

“The only crime Rauf Siddiqui had committed was that he got lodged an FIR against the owners of the [Baldia] factory,” he said, adding: “That case registered on the complaint of industries department was in accordance with the law and in principle any investigation should also include departments of labour, home and civil defence too.”

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2016