Judge acquits MPA in Jokhio murder case after accepting out-of-court settlement

Over a year after the ghastly killing of Nazim Jokhio, a sessions court in Karachi on Thursday acquitted Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Jam Awais and two of his servants of the charge of his murder on the basis of an out-of-court settlement reached with the victim’s family.

The MPA and his seven servants and guards — Mohammad Mairaj, Mohammad Saleem, Ahmed Khan Shoro, Doda Khan, Mohammad Soomar, Haider Ali and Meer Ali — had been charged with abetting, kidnapping and torturing the 26-year-old man to death at a farmhouse in Malir in November 2021.

On Friday, Additional District and Sessions Judge (Malir) Faraz Ahmed Chandio announced the judgment he had reserved after hearing arguments on an application jointly filed by Jokhio’s legal heirs and the lawmaker and four of his servants seeking their acquittal on the basis of the out-of-court settlement.

The judge exonerated Awais, Mairaj, Shoro, Doda Khan and Soomar from the murder charge under the Section 345-6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) but declined to acquit two of them— Doda Khan and Soomar — of the charge of kidnapping and taking Jokhio to the farmhouse before his murder on the ground that abduction was a non-compoundable offence, according to the lawmaker’s lawyer Wazir Ahmed Khoso.

He ordered that Awais be released from prison forthwith if he was not required in any other case. Two detained accused — Haider Ali and Meer Ali — along with three others Muhammad Saleem Salar, Doda Khan and Soomar will stand the trial.

The judge also dismissed an application filed by the National Commission for Human Rights seeking to become intervener in the murder trial proceedings. On September 25 last year, the accused and the legal heirs of the deceased had filed the compromise application in the court stating that both parties had patched up after the “intervention of elders” and that the family would have no objection if the accused were acquitted.

In her statement recorded before the court, Shireen said that she being one of the legal heirs of the deceased had entered into a compromise with Awais and five of his servants without any pressure or coercion and forgave them in the name of Almighty Allah and did no claim any Diyat for herself. However, she demanded her children’s share in the Diyat amount from the accused.

In her statement, the victim’s mother said she had pardoned the six accused without accepting any Diyat (blood money) but refused to forgive Meer Ali, Haider Ali and absconding accused Niaz Salar. However, Saleem later filed an application in the court stating that he was no longer interested in the out-of-court settlement and wanted to contest the charges levelled against him.

Last month, MPA Awais along with his seven guards/servants were indicted for abetting and torturing to Jokhio to death and later concealing evidence. Soomar, Doda Khan and their absconding accomplice Niaz Salar were also indicted on the charge of kidnapping Jokhio before his murder. All the accused had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The judge will likely start recording statements of prosecution witnesses on the next date.

In January 2021, the investigating officer had filed a final charge sheet against the accused before a judicial magistrate. Later in February, the magistrate announced his decision on the charge sheet, ruling that the case fell within the ambit of terrorism and ought to be tried by an anti-terrorism court.

However, the ATC in May declared that the murder of Jokhio was not an act of terrorism and sent the case back to the Malir court for trial.

Subsequently, the judicial magistrate in July took cognisance of the offences allegedly committed by the accused under the sections 302 (premeditated murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of off, or giving false information to screen offender), 365 (kidnapping), 506 (criminal intimidation), 109 (abetment) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

He ruled that Awais and his eight servants would stand trial and discharged Awais’s brother MNA Jam Abdul Karim and five others due to insufficient evidence.

Jokhio was found dead in November 2021 at a farmhouse belonging to the PPP MPA. The victim’s brother Afzal Jokhio had named Awais and his MNA brother as well as their guards in the FIR for allegedly torturing the victim to death. He was allegedly murdered after he posted a video on social media that showed foreigners who had been visiting the Thatta district to hunt houbara bustard. The foreigners were reportedly guests of the PPP lawmakers.