SHC rejects appeals of 3 death convicts

Asma Nawab, accused of killing her parents and brother, among the convicts

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) rejected on Thursday the appeals of three death convicts and upheld their death sentences awarded by the anti-terrorism court.

One of the convicts is Asma Nawab who was found guilty of killing her parents and brother 16 years ago when she was only 16 years old, according to her lawyer. The other convicts, Javed Ahmed Siddiqui and Muhammad Farhan, were also given death sentences for helping her.

Meanwhile, co-accused Muhammad Waseem was given 10 years’ imprisonment by the ATC that found the men guilty of murdering Asma’s father Nawab Ahmed, mother Abrar Begum and brother Asif Nawab in the limits of Malir police station on December 30, 1998.

According to the prosecution, the murder took place because Nawab’s parents were opposed to her marriage with Farhan. The convicts challenged their conviction and sentences in SHC in 1999 but their appeals were pending.

Rare split verdict

In a rare move, the two members of SHC’s anti-terrorism appellate bench, Justices Ali Sain Dino Maitlo and Dr Rana M Shamim, gave a split verdict. The former acquitted the appellants due to a lack of evidence in the prosecution but the latter upheld the conviction and the sentences.

Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, who was the then SHC chief justice, referred the case to Justice Abdul Rasool Memon on January 30, 2009, to decide it as a referee judge. Nearly six years later, Justice Memon heard the appeals afresh and reserved verdict on November 25 after hearing arguments from the prosecution and the defence lawyers at length.

“We are not satisfied with the high court ruling and will appeal it in the Supreme Court,” said Nawab’s lawyer, Javed Chattari, referring to Thursday’s ruling.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2015.