Court asked to confirm commutation of life term

Convict released after eight years in jail in drug case

The Supreme Court (SC) sought on Tuesday a confirmation from the East sessions judge of the commutation of the life term meted out to a convict, Shaikh Riaz, in a case pertaining to the possession of drugs.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, was hearing Riaz's plea pertaining to Sindh High Court's (SHC) verdict at the SC's Karachi registry, where it expressed astonishment over Riaz being released from jail just after eight years.

The counsel representing the Anti-Narcotics Force informed the court that Riaz had initially been sentenced to life for possessing drugs but he was released after spending eight years in prison after his sentence was commuted by 13 years.

"This commutation leaves a question mark on our criminal justice system," remarked Justice Amin. "You are deceiving the state if you are releasing a convict handed a life sentence just after eight years."

The counsel for the ANF maintained that Riaz had also benefited from the commutation in penalties by the president of Pakistan as well as from the leniency he received on account of prison rules.

The court directed the East sessions judge to submit a report confirming the commutation of Riaz's penalty within five weeks.

According to the ANF's counsel, 1,745 kilogrammes of hashish was found in the possession of Riaz in 1998 and he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012. Riaz had appealed against his penalty, but it was rejected by the SHC in 2018.

Kidnapping case

The SC directed the police to recover girls, who had allegedly been kidnapped from Shikarpur, within two months.

Shikarpur SSP Kamran Panjota appeared before the court.

Irked at the police for not having recovered the girls yet, the court remarked that it showed the substandard performance of the police.

The court directed the police to recover the girls within two months and adjourned the hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2020.