Slain student Zain’s mother said on Monday that the family was not capable of fighting the case further and had accepted anti-terrorism court’s (ATC) verdict as Allah’s will.
Mother and sisters of Zain appeared before the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday as the chief justice (CJ) had taken a sou moto notice in the case.
Justice Amir Hani Muslim held hearing of the case and said that the ATC’s verdict in Zain’s murder case was unfair and family of the slain should not fear anyone. Zain’s mother, however, said that the family had accepted ATC’s verdict even though it was not fair. Justice Hani said that it is state’s responsibility to bring culprits to justice.
The court decided to hold hearing of the case in Justice Hani’s chamber.
The ATC had acquitted the accused persons on October 27. CJP Anwar Zaheer Jamali took suo moto notice after the ATC’s decision. A hearing was held on November 10 in this regard in which the court summoned witnesses on November 16.
Earlier, the SC had summoned complete record of the case after the High Court after the court gave its verdict in favour of the accused. All the witnesses in the case including the complainant had retracted their statements.
The bench formed to hear the case includes Justice Manzoor Malik and Justice Tariq Masood besides Justice Hani. The court had issued notices to Punjab advocate general and Punjab Police prosecutor. The police had arrested two witnesses in September after they retracted their statements. Police personnel said that the witnesses had testified earlier that the accused Kanju was drunk and had opened indiscriminate fire.