KARACHI:
An appeal seeking harsher punishment for the six people sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in the Sarfraz Shah murder was filed with the Sindh High Court on Saturday. The seventh man involved in the case, Shahid Zafar, has already been sentenced to death by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC-1) on August 12.
Javaid Ahmed Chattari advocate filed the appeal by complainant Syed Salik Shah, Sarfraz Shah’s elder brother.
The pair feels that the court showed leniency towards the six co-accused men by giving them a lesser sentence even though their intention was the same as Zafar’s as proven under Section 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
(Read: Death for Sarfraz Shah's killers)
They claimed that the men’s body language in the video of Sarfraz Shah being shot in the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park was self-explanatory and showed their intention of murdering Shah. The complainants said that the respondents were relishing the hue and cry and the injured Shah’s calls for mercy and stood around till he died instead of rushing him to the hospital.
They asked the appellate bench to enhance the sentence of the respondents, Muhammad Afzal Khan, Inspector Baha-ur-Rehman, Liaquat Ali, Muhammad Tariq, Manthar Ali and the civilian, Afsar Khan, from life terms to death sentences.
At the final hearing of the two-month-long case on August 12, ATC-I judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso found accused Zafar, of the Abdullah Shah Ghazi unit of Pakistan Rangers, guilty of causing fatal injury to deceased Sarfraz Shah and sentenced him to death. Zafar, 35, has also been ordered to pay Rs200,000 as compensation to Shah’s legal heirs. Five other members of the same Pakistan Rangers unit and a civilian Afsar Khan were sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay Rs100,000 each to Shah’s heirs.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo motu notice of the incident and ordered the removal of Sindh Chief Secretary and DG Rangers. It also ordered a speedy trial.
The convicted men have also filed four separate appeals which have been admitted for regular hearing. They maintain that it was an accidental murder and no act of terrorism was caused as they were doing their duty and protecting the lives and property of the state and its citizens.
(Read: Power to Rangers)
They claim that Sarfraz Shah had attempted to rob a visitor at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park but was overpowered and handed over to the Rangers. The deceased allegedly tried to snatch a G-3 rifle from Zafar. In their version of events, the gun went off accidentally, causing a gaping wound in Shah’s thigh. Shah later died of profuse bleeding at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
The men have also questioned the jurisdiction of the ATC to try the case as they feel it was an accidental murder, which puts it under the jurisdiction of an ordinary court of law.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2011.
COMMENTS (14)
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the truths shown on video and why wasn't he taken to hospital! why kill diesel?! why rangers kill many children!!
While what the rangers did was wrong, its really humorous to see the brother of the deceased phone snatcher claiming capital punishment. Buddy sadly your brother was a phone snatcher and not a responsible citizen of Pakistan. First of all he should be given capital punishment for trying to snatch a cell phone, which might cause the victim to loose his life. I don't believe in violence but do these scumbags think before killing the person that cell phone is not important than a life? no. The decision should have been imprisonment for 10 years or something. The theif's brother should say whatever he wants to say.
@Hyder Abbas:
We need more people like Raymond Davis on the streets to dish out quick and effective retribution.
Your brother was a thief, a decoit who used to rob people at gun point. (though he had a fake gun) but still used to terrorize people and rub them. If the rangers killed him is incorrect then its also incorrect for you to demand that rangers should be hanged as your brother was not that innocent as well.
In a city like Karachi, if police or any other law enforcement official points gun at you and order you to seize, Just seize and don't move. If you approach towards him and force him to retreat, then he has every right to shoot you. This is the practice adopted everywhere in the world. In Pakistan, criminals and police officials have joined hands, therefore criminals don't take them seriously. Young robber paid the price for not differentiating between police and rangers.
@Sameera: So u r saying it was his first try...to kill..!!..great sis..!!....i made the statement coz last night the tears of a 5 yr old boy crying fr her mother torn my heart into thousand pieces...if sarfarz is not a murderer...atleast he is a part of the gang...sarfaraz was not a single guy...sarfaraz is the name of a disease...sarfraz is a whole dirty network...killers...cruels...animals...! So, if anyone proves himnot a decoit, i wud send apologies to his family...but right now...thousands of men, women, children are more imp for me who have lost their loved ones, killed by a sarfraz....!!!
i support smeera ,she is right...everyone whether who is civilian or security person should be treated equally...if for the time we accept that sarfaraz was crimnal then alsao rangers prsonnel did the crime to kill him at site........
hang the brother first....rangers should be set free....
Hyder Abbas, what are you on about? How can you make such a strong allegation that the deceased was a murderer? Shame on you.
Sad that everyone is worried about this criminal. I support the Rangers. If we had more of them dealing firmly with criminals, people would start to behave quickly. If people have forgotten, Sarfaraz Shah had a toy gun and was robbing people. Police in the West like US would not hesitate to shoot a criminal with a toy gun and the courts would absolve them of any guilt. Shame on the courts that have pandered to an illiterate public who wants to forgive robbers over the police! That's why you have so much lawlessness in Karachi!
Off course, they all should be hanged. In city of terrorists and criminals, a trainee criminal has been killed. A young man, who was only at initial stages of his career, but had proven himself as a great future prospect. These youngesters are our real heroes, anyone who cut their careers short and terminate their lives, should be punished.
These brutal lads should be stoned to death. We have to make an example of them.