Justice is served

In a rare rebuke to the powerful security establishment, an anti-terrorism court on Friday sentenced a Rangers personnel to death for killing an unarmed youth in June, making it the first time that a civilian court has condemned to death a serving member of the country’s military wing.
The court also sentenced five other Rangers and a civilian to life imprisonment for the cold-blooded murder of Sarfraz Shah, whose killing was caught on video and broadcast on television. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 0.2 million on Shahid Zafar, the Ranger, receiving the death penalty, and Rs 0.1 million each on the others which include Sub-Inspector Bahaur Rehman, Lance Naik Liaquat Ali, Constables Muhammad Tariq, Manthar Ali, Afzal Khan and civilian, Afsar Khan.
The footage showed the Rangers shooting Shah at close range in a public park in Clifton, Karachi. The civilian who was sentenced to life is seen grabbing Shah by the hair and dragging him over to a group of Rangers. Shah pleads for mercy before one of the soldiers shoots him twice. Shah then falls to the ground in a pool of blood while the soldiers stood around him. According to the judgement, the prosecution successfully proved that the accused had killed the deceased with the help of his associates. The defence counsels argued that their clients were innocent and were implicated in the case, and should be acquitted. The prosecution had named 47 witnesses, including witnesses, in the charge sheet in addition to a list of 14 articles, including the crime weapon. In defence of the accused, the counsels presented a list of eight witnesses but could only produce two. After the announcement of the judgement, Shah’s family expressed satisfaction over it. His brother Salik Shah said he was satisfied with the decision and thanked the chief justice of Pakistan for taking notice of this case.
Shah’s father said the decision was made on merit and it should be upheld and implemented by the superior courts. “The decision is historic, it shows no one is above the law,” government prosecutor Mohammed Khan Buriro told reporters. “The Rangers as an institution was not involved in the murder, and it was proved in the court proceedings it was the culprits’ own act,” he said. The defence lawyers said they would appeal against their sentences.