Appeal period against death sentence extended

Petitioner contended that time period set by British colonial rulers was too short

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has disposed of the petition regarding the extension of the appeal period against the death sentence decision, after the federal government amended the law.

The counsel of the petitioner, Barrister Rafiq submitted that the accused had only seven days to file an appeal after the death sentence. Seven days is very short period for appeal. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India allow 60 days. During the British rule, the appeal against the sentence was only seven days.

The government lawyer had taken a stand and said that the federal government had fixed 30 days for the appeal by amending the law. The court had reserved its decision after hearing the arguments of the parties.

PTI activist gets bail

A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) worker charged with a 9 May arson, rioting, and interfering with government work case was granted bail by a special anti-terrorism court. A hearing was held in front of the special court in the Anti-Terrorism Complex in Karachi Central Jail. The court approved the bail of worker Faizan against the surety bond of Rs0.1 million.

PTI's lawyer Shujat Ali advocate contended before the court that the Sindh High Court (SHC) has granted bail to the workers in the cases filed at Tipu Sultan and Firozabad police stations. Bail for Raja Azhar and Haleem Adil Sheikh should be approved while Khurram Sher Zaman's interim bail should be confirmed.

The court sought information on the ruling of the SHC pertaining to the named accused's bail. The court commented that a ruling from the SHC granting bail to any named offender in the case should be provided. The hearing was postponed by the court until October 7, with directives to give a copy to the public prosecutor.

Disqualification of Jam Owais

The Sindh High Court adjourned the hearing on the application regarding the disqualification of Jam Owais, the main accused in the Nazim Jokhio murder case, on the Election Commission's request for more time to submit the reply.

Advocate Wazir Khosa appeared in the court on behalf of Jam Owais. After the dissolution of the assembly, this petition has become ineffective. Mediation is not a crime. The court adjourned the application till November 8.

In the petition filed, Barrister Ali Tahir had taken the stand that Sindh's young Nazim Jokhio was killed by the accused. The accused has also given compensation to the family of the deceased. Giving compensation means that the accused has killed Jokhio. The accused in the murder case should be disqualified for lifetime.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2023.