Sarfraz Shah murder case: Convicted park chowkidar appeals life sentence
Afsar Khan, who was sentenced to life in prison in the Sarfraz Shah murder case, filed his appeal against the verdict on Tuesday by arguing that the investigators failed to find out why he had handed the young man over to the Rangers in the first place.
(Read: In swift trial, Rangers man is sentenced to death)
In a twist to the tale, his lawyer Chaudhry Aamir Nawaz Warraich introduced a new character named Abdul Ghafoor. He was the man who helped park visitor Alam Zaib overpower the teenager who was allegedly robbing Alam Zaib, a police head constable, and his girlfriend Hira.
Warraich argued that his client was innocent as he only turned the young man over to the Rangers and went away. He was not party to the firing or the death. There was no common intention to kill either. Khan did not know who foisted a dummy pistol on Shah, his lawyer argued.
The appeal said that Afsar Khan had been working as a chowkidar in the park for two years and no complaints were registered against him and neither did he have a criminal record.
The prosecution hid circumstantial evidence and the investigators failed to find out why Khan had apprehended Shah. This missing link in the chain of events, that led to the firing and his death, shows mala fide intentions in the prosecution’s story, which was “a castle in the air”, said Khan’s appeal, which was filed well within the seven-day limit.
(Read: Rangers shooting: Youth was unarmed when shot)
He is appealing against the verdict passed by Anti-Terrorism Court judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso who also sentenced Shahid Zafar to death and four other men of the Abdullah Shah Ghazi Rangers to life in prison on Friday for killing the unarmed Syed Sarfraz Shah on June 8 inside Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Park off Boat Basin.
The Sindh police and its investigators protected the department’s reputation by concealing the alleged robbery involving head constable Alam Zaib and Shah, the appeal maintains.
Alam Zaib was examined and his statement was recorded by DIG Sultan Khawaja, the inquiry officer appointed by the Supreme Court. But he was kept out of the entire case by the police to protect their reputation as the Pakistan Rangers faced the wrath of citizens, the appeal said.
The trial court shifted the burden of proof onto the accused men, while it always lies with the prosecution, the appeal said. The prosecution witnessses were highly interested. Some of them deposed on the pretext of humanitarian grounds but falsely implicated the accused and said they spread terror.
The prosecution deliberately and intentionally concealed some private witnesses and facts in the case, Warraich stated. There were serious improvements and concealments on the part of the prosecution witnesses, making them untrustworthy and unreliable and thus the benefit of innocence should go to the appellants.
The trial court ignored the cross examination. The prosecution also changed its version which was initially set up in the FIR. (Two FIRs were filed against Sarfraz Shah on charges of attempted robbery and being in possession of an unlicensed TT pistol). The counsel questioned the legal authority of the PTV expert who gave an opinion on the video recording by a cameraman of a television channel and declared that it was “tampered” with. The expert’s opinion carries no weight as he was not notified by the government, Warraich argued.
About terrorism, the appeal said that accused did not spread any terror. Actually, terrorism was created by the media. If they had not played the video, no terrorism would have been created.
Warraich maintained that the trial court erred in the law as well as on the facts. The appeal prayed to the court to acquit Afsar Khan as he was innocent. The appeal was filed in the appellate bench for the ATCs. The appeals for the other Rangers men is expected to be filed today and Shahid Zafar’s the day after. They will be clubbed together. Interestingly, Warraich did not bring up the challenge to the ATC’s jurisdiction in the appeal.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 17th, 2011.
COMMENTS (16)
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@ Owais...yes totally! Him and also those who made videos of Mughees and Muneeb's lynching from their mobile phones but didn't have the courage to stop the murderers.
How dare you catch a robber and hand him over to Rangers? Don't you watch that dogs are free and bricks are chained.
This is a legitimate request. The Rangers are guilty of killing Sarfaraz Shah, not the chowkidar.
And just read the whole story....the whole process is twisted how the case was handled.....its not justice in any sense of the word other than God's justice...the society as a whole is blind to corruption, crime and the values of justice so we get the same people in courts to decide our fates. Its them today so we don't feel it....God save us if we may be in their criminal courts ever.
@Asadullah: The world is either black or its white....simple!!! This basically shows that the case has been tried by the media and the intent behind this so called speedy justice is to just get it off the hands of the ATC people....' OK lets put all in jail and kill one as well.' Its not even a question worth arguing whether the sentences are just or not...its the thought process and the reasons behind the decision that are questionable. Is the intention to deliver justice as Allah has commanded those who are in the position of deciding or is it to please the masses?? And to Aamir Hameed.....What is Afsar Khan suppose to do as the keeper of the park with the people who are thieving and terrorizing the probably only truly innocent in the whole case, the ordinary people out to have some peaceful time in the park, if not catch them and hand them over to the authorities??? Pat him on the back and say ' fella every hundred U make I get 50???
i agree with punishing the rangers but not the person who handed him over to them. Unless he falsely claimed to the rangers that sarfaraz was a criminal. Anyone who gets hold of a criminal would hand him over to the rangers seeing them as part of "the authorities"
No doubt, the contention advanced by the defense counsel is significance and considerable in the circumstances.
he had no intention,at the time of handing him over to the rangers for killing.
Such swift action is commendable. Wonder why such swift action hasn't been given to the mob that lynched the brothers in Sialkot? It's been a year now, and no punishment has been given to them. Reading all the comments, one can only conclude that we are all becoming cynical.
The facts may be crual than the incident.Afsar Khan has not right to present the personals even criminals to the rangers or to any agency.This is a country not a jungle,so every person who violate the rules or assist the violation must be punished without any pity.The observers may become so fearful that they could not stop them,anyhow its a big achievement to show the truth and support to suppress the brutes.@Faheem: I fully agree with you. These guys will be either get a lenient sentence or will be set free
@Dee: including the cameraman as well
@Dee: Completely agree with you. Afsar Khan infact should be commended for his bravery to tackle this burgler and handing over to rangers. what happend after is unfortunate, but we should suppport people like Afsar Khan.
So they are in jail swift trials but ever wonder how come same courts have let go thousands of terrorists in the past. How never once these dhashatgards have never been hanged. I am not saying rangers should not be punished but all the terrorists should be punished
he should be punished as well why would he do such a thing handing him over to the rangers in the first place. either sarfraz did something wrong in the first place getting an innocent kid in rangers custody or what ever happened with the kid was right.
One by one all guilty-men challenge the verdict by ATC and will get relief from the higher courts. This "Half-Justice" is the shameful reality of our justice system that generates uncertainty and encourages criminal activities all around.
Honestly Afsar Khan only caught Sarfaraz and handed him over to the rangers thinking that they'll arrest him and take him to jail. Little did he know that Sarfaraz will be brutally murdered and will be left bleeding to death. If Afsar deserves life sentence then everyone who stood there and watched the kid bleed to death should be punished.