‘In the name of Allah’: Supreme Court bench cautions against misuse of pardons

Chief justice issues notices to seek legal opinion on Diyat cases.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court issued notices to the Attorney General of Pakistan and provincial prosecutor generals on Friday, seeking their legal opinion on out-of-court settlements of murder cases, particularly the pardons ‘in the name of Allah’.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry made remarks about the murder case of Shahzeb Khan – the 20-year-old who was shot dead in Karachi last year – in which the victim’s family pardoned the convicts ‘in the name of Allah’.

On December 25, 2012, Shahzeb was gunned down by Shahrukh Jatoi, who was accompanied by his friends, Siraj and Sajjad Talpur.

The Anti-Terrorism Court had sentenced the main accused, Shahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur, to death and Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari to life imprisonment on June 7.

On Friday, the Supreme Court issued notice during a hearing of a similar murder case and out-of-court settlement in Mandi Bahauddin.

“We should not turn a blind eye over such compromises and look into the matter according to the law. We need to know whether the law is being misused and exploited or not?” said the chief justice.

Shahzeb’s family pardoned the convicts under the Qisas and Diyat laws, specifically the latter that allows pardon if compensation is paid to the victims’ families.

It looks like the case was over but the issue is still alive, remarked the chief justice. “All eyes were on this high-profile case and its sudden conclusion has raised eyebrows.”

“We need to examine whether pardoning a crime is a crime itself, or has the pardon been granted in the interest of society,” he remarked.

The chief justice said that criminals have been released after such pardons and it is the responsibility of the courts to ensure the law has not been misused, particularly in such a serious criminal case.

Meanwhile, in his remarks, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said, “Pardoning in the name of Allah is a noble deed, but this option is widely exploited.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2013.