SHC sets aside man’s death sentence in triple murder case

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday set aside the death sentence of a banned militant outfit’s activist in a triple murder case observing that the prosecution had failed to prove charges against him.

Ishaque, alias Bobby, was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) for murdering Syed Zakir Hussain, Mohammad Nawaz and Muhammad Younus at Dargah Nazar Ali Shah in Korangi on August 23, 2014.

According to the prosecution, Bobby along with an absconding accomplice had fired at the victims and a 12- to 13-year-old boy who remained unhurt and ran away from the scene. The suspect had been on the run until his arrest in November 2016.

A counsel for the appellant submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove charges against him and there was no sufficient evidence to convict the appellant in the triple murder case. He submitted that the identification parade of the appellant could not be relied upon as there was contradiction in the statement of a witness.

An additional prosecutor general supported the trial court’s judgment and sought dismissal of the appeal. A division bench of the high court headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha after hearing the arguments and perusal of the evidence observed that the prosecution had failed to prove charges against the appellant as the identification parade for the appellant had not been conducted in accordance with the law.

The SHC set aside the death sentence of the appellant and ordered his release if not required in other cases.

Plea for autopsy

The SHC also dismissed a petition seeking the exhumation of the late Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain’s body for an autopsy.

The petitioner, Abdul Ahad, had submitted in the application that Hussain was a renowned person and his cause of death should be ascertained.

A counsel for Hussain’s children opposed the petition submitting that he had no locus standi to file the petition. He argued that Hussain had died on June 9 and his legal heirs were allowed to bury him after obtaining permission from a judicial magistrate. He submitted that the legal heirs of the deceased did not want an autopsy of their father and requested the high court to dismiss the petition.

A single bench of the high court headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar after hearing the arguments of the counsels dismissed the petition.