Free to go: PHC acquits man earlier sentenced to 103 years imprisonment

Nadeem was charged with the murder of four of a family

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has acquitted a man sentenced to 103 years of imprisonment for murdering four people of a family, including a three-year-old girl, and illegal possession on December 15, 2008 in Mardan.

Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Asadullah Khan Chamkani announced the verdict after hearing arguments from both sides on Thursday.



Nadeem, 25, was sentenced to four life terms and fined Rs450,000 by additional sessions judge Muhammad Jamal Khan on March 20, 2012. The decision was later challenged in the PHC.

Counsel of the petitioner, Advocate Aminur Rehman informed the court that the proceedings of the case missed out on several legal aspects which were not considered during the initial trial, adding the statements of the prosecution witnesses were full of contradictions.

Advocate Rehman further said there were no eyewitnesses present at the crime scene and hence first-hand accounts of the incident cannot be ascertained. Rehman said the firearm expert’s report was also negative, which highlights the many flaws in the investigation.

The court was informed that according to the FIR, police found 26 empty shells from the crime scene whereas a prosecution witness recorded 24 in his statement.

In the name of honour?

The FIR suggested that Nadeem murdered Johar, his daughter Rashida, son-in-law Baz Gul and granddaughter Iqra in the name of honour. After the incident, Nadeem absconded for 21 months and was finally nabbed on September 14, 2010 by Jabbar police, Mardan and charged with homicide.

Mairaj Gul, brother of deceased Baz Gul, claimed to be an eyewitness of the incident. He also claimed bloodstained clothes and 24 empty shells were recovered from the scene.

Nadeem was tried under sections 302 and 449 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Upon hearing the arguments, the court acquitted Nadeem of the charges.

“One witness Fazal Karim said the family was killed because it had an internal land dispute, adding that the investigation officer forced him to sign blank papers and was unaware how police obtained all the information,” the bench said in its judgment.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2014.