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2 Sentenced to Death in 2012 Pakistan Factory Fire

Ayesha Tanzeem

   ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani court Tuesday sentenced two men to death and
   another four convicts to life in prison for setting a garment factory
   ablaze in 2012, the worst industrial fire in the country's history,
   that killed 264 people.

   The court said the men from a local political party started the fire in
   retaliation for the factory owners refusing to pay more than $1 million
   in extortion money.

   The stories of people burning alive in a building with no fire exits or
   extinguishers caused an uproar across the country and drew attention to
   the hazardous working conditions of garment factory employees.

   The owners of the Karachi factory, Ali Enterprise, claim they had a
   safety certification, but families of victims refuse to believe them.

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