Baldia factory fire: Labour leaders laud Judge Rahmat Jafery

Labour and human rights activists on Wednesday appreciated Justice (retd) Rahmat Hussain Jafery, who headed the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) commission, for playing a key role in the distribution of compensation to the Baldia factory fire affectees.

A delegation of rights activists, including Karamat Ali of the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Asad Iqbal Butt of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Nasir Mansoor of the National Trade Union Federation met the former judge of the Supreme Court at his residence and handed him over a “Thank You” shield in recognition of his services to the victims’ families.

A function to distribute the appreciation awards to the key personalities, activists and journalists was held on September 9, 2018 but the judge was out of the country. The rights activists lauded the procedure adopted for judicious distribution of the amount provided by German buyer of Ali Enterprises, Sindh government and private sector donors for immediate relief.

German company KIK Textilien after signing a memorandum of understanding with the PILER provided $1m for emergency relief to the victims’ families. The PILER had requested the SHC to form a judicial commission for the distribution of the amount provided by the German company. Subsequently, Justice Jafery formed a commission that undertook the lengthy procedure to determine legal heirs of the victims.