The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) converted capital sentence awarded to a major convict of Sindh Rangers personnel Shahid Zafar into life imprisonment in Sarfaraz Shah’s murder case and rejecting appeals of other convicts.
The 3-member bench of the SCP comprising Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Athar Saeed passed this order during the hearing of review petition filed by the Sindh Rangers for relaxation in punishments.
The hearing was conducted at the SCP Karachi Registry on Friday. The bench passed this order after thoroughly watching the footages of the main incident prepared by a private television.
The bench maintained order of punishments awarded to Rangers personnel Bihauddin, Muhammad Afzal Khan, Minthar Ali and Tariq while the punishment awarded to the Benazir Bhutto Park watchman, Afsar Khan, was declared void after necessary amendments in the sections of law and ordered for his release.
Salik Shah, the plaintiff, during the hearing apprised the apex court that with the will of slain Sarfaraz Shah’s father all the convicts in Sarfaraz Shah murder case were pardoned and hence their punishments should also be declared as void.
On this, the bench in its remarks said even if Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code was removed from the FIR, it would still be a valid case of terrorism. Hence the convicts could not be freed until the said law was amended, it added.
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