SC acquits two convicts in murder, kidnapping case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday acquitted two persons convicted in a murder and kidnapping for ransom case for lack of evidence.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Kakar heard the appeals filed against the verdict of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

During the hearing, Arshid Yousafzai, counsel for the two convicts, submitted that there was an allegation against his clients for kidnapping a four-year-old child and then killing him, contending that the prosecution could not produce any solid evidence against his clients.

The counsel further submitted that neither the prosecution had recovered mobile phones from the convicts nor produced any witness against them.

After hearing the arguments, the court set aside the PHC's verdict and acquitted both the convicts.

As per the case, the father of the child had lodged a first information report in Charsadda in the year 2008 against Imtiaz and Naeem, alleging that the two had killed his child after he could not pay ransom amount demanded by them.

An anti-terrorism court in 2010 had awarded death sentence to both of them and later the PHC, while hearing their appeal, had converted the death sentence of the accused into life imprisonment. Later, the accused had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the PHC verdict.