Sahiwal murder case: Woman forgives killer husband

Places condition that he won’t bother her or their children; court refuses to dismiss case.

KARACHI:

In June, Abida Batool wanted nothing more than for her husband, Dr Fazal Hussain Shah Shirazi, to be tried and convicted for killing their daughter.

She has now reportedly forgiven him on the condition that he does not bother her or her children.

Abida’s lawyer Mujahid Hussain told The Express Tribune that his client had given a statement to the court to this effect. She reportedly informed her estranged husband of her decision during a phone conversation. It is unclear why Abida changed her stance.

However, the case was not dismissed after Abida’s statement. On Saturday, sessions court judge Najamul Hassan Bukhari set the trial date for August 6.

The gruesome murder took place in Sahiwal on June 4. An evening after 17-year-old Anum Fatima had sided with her mother in a domestic dispute; Shirazi stabbed her to death in the early hours of the morning.

On June 4, Shirazi confessed to his sister that he had murdered Anum. He fled Sahiwal once his wife filed a complaint against him. His brother said at the time that he was unaware of his whereabouts.

Shirazi has subsequently emerged from hiding. Hussain said Shirazi had told him that he had been in hiding in Punjab for a week and had then found refuge in Azad Kashmir with friends. Shirazi refused to comment since legal proceedings are underway.

When interviewed by The Express Tribune in June, a grieving Abida Batool disclosed details of her rocky marriage to Shirazi, his extremist religious leanings and the mental torture and physical beatings that he subjected his wife and children to.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^th,  2011.