SHC upholds death sentence of convict who murdered two shopkeepers

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday dismissed the appeal of a convict against his punishment of the death sentence in a double murder case.

Appellant Khalid Zafar had been sentenced to death by the additional district & sessions court (East) for committing the murder of two shopkeepers in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal neighbourhood. According to the prosecution, the appellant had stormed in a medical store on February 24, 2014, and demanded cash from the shopkeepers, and on their refusal, he had gunned down shopkeepers Shams Zaman and Mohammad Sajid.

The appellant’s counsel said that the complainant was not an eyewitness of the incident, and there was contradiction in the statement of the eyewitness. He said that the sketch produced before the trial court was distinguishable from that of the appellant. He requested the court to set aside the conviction.

The additional prosecutor general supported the trial court’s order, and said that the eyewitness had identified the appellant during the identification parade and had nominated with role who had killed the two men in the armed robbery.

After hearing the arguments of the counsels and the perusal of the evidence, an SHC division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha said that the eyewitness had identified the appellant without any shadow of a doubt, and the prosecution had proved its case.

The court said that the appellant was the main perpetrator of a planned robbery during which he shot and killed two innocent individuals who were performing their daily business. The bench said that the appellant’s ruthless act had caused immeasurable harm to the families of the victims, to the workers who had lost their employer and to the broader economy of the country.

The court said that street crime incidents like this case have a profoundly negative impact on society, so a strong message must be conveyed that such acts will not be tolerated. The bench said that due to the appellant’s heinous crime and the need for deterrence, the court must impose the ultimate penalty of death.

The bench said that it is imperative to deal with street crime with an iron hand to counter its rapid rise in Karachi, posing a grave threat to the state and society. The court said that if individuals who attempt to resist a robbery are met with violence and death, it will inevitably lead to further murders and other crimes.

The bench said that street crime can contribute to social and economic inequality by creating an atmosphere of fear and insecurity in the affected neighbourhoods. The court said that street crime can also lead to the breakdown of trust between the residents and the law enforcement agencies, exacerbating the problem and even leading to the residents taking the law into their own hands by attacking the culprits.

The bench said that it is crucial to impose strict punishments on those who engage in such acts so that law and order can be maintained and the residents can be protected. The court said that the decision made by the trial court was just and proper, and in conformity with the principles of the administration of justice. The SHC dismissed the appeal and upheld the death punishment of the appellant.