Police have arrested a 46-year-old Pakistani man in Bangkok for alleged involvement in the world’s sixth deadliest arson that killed 259 people in Pakistan in 2012.
Abdul Rehman was arrested at the Royal Garden Home hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 3 (Nana) following a raid by commandos from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) and Interpol officers.
The arrest was connected to a fire at the Ali Enterprises textile factory in Karachi on Sept 11, 2012, when 259 people were killed and 50 others seriously injured.
Pakistani authorities established the attack was arson and linked it to the suspect. An anti-terrorism court in Karachi issued a warrant for Mr Rehman’s arrest on Sept 16 2016, and Pakistani authorities later learned that the wanted man had fled to Thailand.
It is believed that the suspect was a member of a large criminal organisation in Pakistan, which extorted money from local businesses
Before the fire, it is alleged, the group had demanded the equivalent of 7 million baht from the owner of the textile factory. When the owner refused, the factory was torched. It was the sixth worst arson in history.
(Source: Bangkok Post)