Hamza Elahi murder: Shan Khusro acquitted of murder charges

Mother of the deceased said she had forgiven him for his parents’ sake.

LAHORE:

Shan Khusro, son of former Lahore division commissioner Khusro Pervez, was acquitted of murder charge on Saturday after legal heirs of Hamza Elahi recorded their pardon before the court.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Fazal Elahi, father of the deceased, said Shaan Khushro’s parents visited them more than 20 times, asking for forgiveness. He said they had insisted that their son had not murdered Hamza.

He said they were offered Rs1 billion by Khusro’s family. He said they were also offered foundations and charities in Hamza’s name. He said they rejected the offers.

Elahi said Shan Khusro’s mother had sat at his wife’s feet and begged. He said sometimes when the Khusros visited, they had avoided them by pretending to be away.

“But they would not go away until we opened the door and heard what they had to say,” he said.

Fazal Elahi said Shan’s family had told his younger brother Mehboob Elahi they would open charities in the name of his son but Mehboob warned Khusro Pervez against it. He said his family had not been pressurised to pardon Shan. He said they had forgiven him in God’s name.

On Saturday a handcuffed Shan Khusro was produced before the court. He went over to Shabana, Hamza’s mother, and sat by her feet. She told him that she had forgiven him for his parents’ sake.

“Only a mother knows the pain of losing a child,” she said. “Why did you throw him out of the car after killing him?” she asked. “Why didn’t you bring him to me?”

She advised Shan to be “good in life.” Shan Khusro told The Express Tribune that after his release from jail, he wanted to visit Hamza Elahi’s parents at their residence if they allowed. He said he would try to learn from his mistakes. He said he had never wanted to hurt anyone.

On Wednesday, Hamza Elahi’s parents had approached the court and said they had forgiven Khusro. They said they had no objection if he was acquitted. They said they had not received any diyat (blood money).

Considering their counsel Sohail Dar was not present, the judge had fixed December 14 to record their statements.

The proceeding of the case had been delayed several times as prosecution witnesses had not recorded their statements, mostly because counsel for defence was “busy” with other cases.

The trial

Shan Khusro’ trial had started on July 27, 2012. Case copies were distributed on August 28, 2012, but Khusro’s counsel later claimed he had not received complete records. He also submitted an application seeking acquittal. The charges were framed on January 19, 2013. The prosecution witnesses were summoned to record their statements by February 16, 2013.

As many as 10 witnesses came but Khusro’s counsel did not turn up. On March 9 and 27, there was a lawyers’ strike.

After that six more hearings passed without the defence counsel appearing. On July 20 there was another lawyers’ strike and the case was adjourned till August 17. Khusro’s counsel was absent from the proceedings once again. The court then fixed September 5 to record the statements of prosecution witnesses.

The case

According to the FIR registered by Fazal Elahi at Burki police, his son had left home after speaking to Khusro on the phone on June 2, 2012.

Later he learnt that his son had been gunned down in DHA’s phase five. Shan Khusro told the police that he had shot Hamza Elahi by accident. He said they had gone to Defence to practice firing in the air. He said he was trying to remove a bullet from the chamber when it went off and a bullet hit Hamza Elahi near his right ear.

Hamza Elahi had been driving the car.

Khusro said he panicked, pushed Hamza out of the car and slid into the driving seat. The body was discovered the next day.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2013.