Justice done: Bank manager’s murderer sentenced to death

Court also sentences 10 men to life in prison for illegally detaining, torturing two govt officials

GILGIT: A Gilgit anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Tuesday sentenced a man to death for killing a bank manager in the region.

Two others involved in the crime were handed life terms by Justice Raja Shehbaz Khan during the hearing on Tuesday.

Tauqeer Abbas, a bank manager and the son of senior journalist Zafar Paul, had been murdered in Jutial area of Gilgit in December 2013 - a time when sectarian strife in Gilgit was at its peak.

The manager was reportedly returning home when the perpetrators forced their way into his car and forced him to drive to a location of their choosing before killing him.

Ehsanullah was accused of planning the murder and eventually killing Abbas. Tauqir Ahmed and Jabir Khan were his accomplices who were sentenced to life.

Apart from the sentences, the court also imposed a fine of Rs0.5 million on each of the three men.

In another case, court  sentenced  10 men to life in prison for torturing and abducting two senior government officials in the Nagar valley.

The accused had abducted a civil judge Raja Ayatullah and a district heath officer Dr Abdur Rashid from Nagar valley, where they were serving in 2012-13. The government officers were illegally confined and allegedly tortured for 10 days in reaction to clashes between Shias and Sunnis in Gilgit and Chilas.

After the court passed its sentence, eight accused present in court were sent to jail.

Two accused remain at large.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2017.