Court delays accepting challan

Police recommend removing name of MNA and MPA from case

KARACHI:

Judicial Magistrate Malir's court has postponed its decision on whether to accept the challan in the murder case of Nazim Jokhio.

The murder case of Nazim Jokhio was heard before the JM. The court postponed the verdict on the challan submitted by the police. It remarked that the decision on whether to accept the challan or not would be taken on July 7.

Police have recommended removing the name of PPP MNA Jam Karim from among the accused. It has also been recommended to remove the names of 13 accused, including Sindh MPA Jam Owais.

Police have named only three prime suspects in the case. They also removed terrorism provisions from the case on a court order.

Nazim Jokhio was tortured and murdered in November 2021 within the limits of Malir Memon Goth.

Towards the end of March, the widow of journalist Nazim Jokhio pardoned the accused named in her husband's murder, saying that she has left the decision at the mercy of Almighty Allah and for the sake of her children's safety.

On November 3 last year, Nazim's tortured body was found in PPP MPA Jam Awais' farmhouse in Karachi's Malir area a day after he filmed a group of foreigners hunting endangered houbara bustard in his Achar Salaar village in Thatta.

According to Afzal Jokhio, brother of the deceased, Nazim made a video of a road that was blocked by foreigners who had come for hunting of houbara bustards. "Nazim got into a verbal spat with a man in the car who snatched his cellphone. Nazim then made another video that went viral on social media."

He alleged that Sindh Assembly member Jam Awais and his personal secretary were involved in the murder of his brother. Subsequently, several people, including Awais, were named in the FIR.

The victim's widow Shiren Jokhio has pardoned the accused named in her husband's murder.

Shiren, in a video statement, said that she could not pursue the case alone, adding that she had left the decision at the mercy of Almighty Allah and for the sake of her children safety, she had pardoned the accused.

The victim's wife also said that she was grateful to those who supported her and she wanted to tell everyone via the video that she can no longer fight the case.

"Those having their own children could understand my compulsion," she said and added that she wanted to fight the case but her relatives left her alone.

It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government in January had said that it would fight the case if the family agreed to a "compromise" with the suspect.

"If Nazim Jokhio's family compromises, the state will take up the case and fight it... The case of Qandil Baloch is before us all," sid former federal minister for human rights Dr Shireen Mazari at the time.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2022.