Pakistani men identify their relatives who died in a garment factory fire at the EDHI Morgue in Karachi on Thursday. — AFP photo

Pakistan on Thursday registered murder charges against factory bosses and government officials over the deaths of 289 people in the country’s worst industrial disaster, the police said.
Workers suffocated or were burnt alive at the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Karachi, which made ready-to-wear clothing for Western export, when a massive fire tore through the building during the evening shift on Tuesday.
Up to 600 people were working in the building, which officials said was in poor condition without emergency exits, forcing dozens to jump from upper storeys to escape the flames.
Others were trapped in the basement, where they perished. ‘We have registered a murder case against the owners of the factory and several government officials for showing utter negligence to provide adequate security to the factory workers,’ said Mohammad Nawaz Gondal, head of the local police station.
The case has been filed against Abdul Aziz, Mohammad Arshad and Shahid Bhaila and other members of the management of Ali Enterprises, Gondal said. The owners have not been seen since the blaze and police are hunting for them.

Gunmen kill nine labourers in SW Pakistan
Nine labourers were killed on Thursday when gunmen riding on motorbikes sprayed bullets at road workers in Pakistan’s troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan, officials said.
A group of four or five armed men came to the site of road building works in the town of Dasht, about 25 kilometres south of the provincial capital Quetta, and opened fire, senior administration official Irfan Shah said.