By IANS,
Islamabad: A minister in Pakistan’s Sindh province resigned after he found himself having “no authority to move against the people responsible” for the Karachi factory fire that left nearly 300 people dead, a media report said Saturday.
Sindh Minister for Industries Abdul Rauf Siddiqi resigned from the provincial cabinet Friday after he found himself “helpless and with no authority to move against the people responsible for the deadly Karachi factory fire”, reported Dawn.
A major blaze broke out in a garments factory in Baldia Town Tuesday, killing 289 workers. It was one of the worst industrial fires in the country.
Siddiqi claimed he had come forward voluntarily to negate a perception that Pakistan’s lawmakers and ministers never quit office after a tragic accident.
“The two key institutions – civil defence and the labour department – which are responsible for safety measures and labour rights are not under my authority and I was compelled to see people dying in the fire,” he was quoted as saying.
“I also demanded half-a-million rupee compensation for families of each victim by the factory owner as a penalty, but no-one paid any heed to my demand,” he rued.
Siddiqi said he had resigned so as to make the judicial investigation transparent and to present himself for any accountability.