SHC overturns life sentence

A Sindh High Court bench Monday overturned the life sentence of a convicted sectarian target killer and accepted his appeal against the judgment of a trial court.

The police and prosecution failed to substantiate their allegations against the appellant, Justice KK Aghan heading a two-member bench wrote in the judgment. The judge ruled that the defendant should be released from custody if there were no additional charges against him. The purported target killer of the outlawed organisation, Syed Mushtaq Hussain Shah Heshmat Khalid aka Shah Jee was acquitted.

The special anti-terrorism court had sentenced Shah Jee to life in prison for the crime of sectarian target killing.

A case of sectarian target killing was registered against the accused in 2012 at Shah Latif Town police station.

The accused Shah Jee ambushed and started firing with his companions. Athar Shah was killed, and Mazahir Shah suffered injuries due to the firing. Irfan, a co-defendant, was also killed in the retaliatory shooting.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2023.