CS asked to intervene to ensure justice in Jokhio murder case

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday sought the intervention of Sindh’s chief secretary to ensure justice to Nazim Jokhio’s family, pointing out that political influence is being exerted and attempts are being made to obstruct the district prosecutor’s submission of the final challan of the murder case.

In a letter to the CS, provincial assembly opposition leader Haleem Adil Sheikh urged him to immediately direct the law department to take urgent steps for the final challan’s submission under the Criminal Procedure Code’s Section 173 after the go-ahead from Malir’s district public prosecutor (DPP).

He also urged the indictment of the real culprits in the light of the joint investigation team’s (JIT) report so that the perpetrators of the horrific crime could be brought to justice.

Jokhio’s family had nominated Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Jam Awais and his elder brother MNA Jam Abdul Karim, and their servants and guards in the murder case of the 27-year-old man, who had earned the ire of the influential persons for stopping their foreign guests from hunting the endangered houbara bustard.

FIR No. 457/2021 was registered at the Memon Goth police station of Karachi under section 302, 201, 34, 35, 506/2 of the Pakistan Penal Code on November 3.

Sheikh said in the letter that threatening the local communities was the motive behind the murder so that in future no one in District Malir dare voice their concerns against any unlawful act committed by the suspects.

“The accused in the case of Jokhio’s brutal murder wanted to create fear, terror, insecurity and anguish in the minds of a section of the public, particularly the entire community of District Malir and the Jokhio tribe, and set an example of dire consequences for voicing their concerns against them.”

The PTI leader noted that the report of the provincial government’s JIT headed by Tanvir Alam Odho was not considered for finalising the final challan, and it was suspected that the prosecution department wanted the interim challan to be deemed final.

Sheikh accused the Malir DPP of trying to extend illegal favour to criminals in the case by not giving the final legal view of police investigating officer Siraj Lashari’s final challan submitted on January 8, despite repeated directives of the trial court for its submission.

“Political pressure by the Sindh government on the Malir DPP, and ill intentions of the prosecution department, which falls under the provincial law department, are evident from the deliberate delay,” he wrote in the letter.

“The Sindh government wanted to save the influential accused in the matter, and the Malir DPP, under political pressure, is not giving his legal opinion and not signalling the IO to go ahead.”

The only conceivable reason behind the delaying tactics is that the court treats the interim challan as final, which was incomplete, lacked the findings of the IO and does not fix responsibility of the crime on anyone, Sheikh pointed out.

The opposition leader also questioned the impartiality of the prosecutor in the murder case, saying that the prosecutor was considered an agent of the state, representing in a non-partisan manner the interest of the state and the common people in the criminal justice system, thus enabling the court to decide the case.

The letter’s copies were also sent to the Sindh High Court’s chief justice, the federal human rights minister, the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights’ chairman, Sindh’s law secretary, the province’s police chief and the Supreme Court Human Rights Commission’s chairman for information and necessary action.