LAHORE: A full bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday converted the death sentences given to two Ahmedi prisoners to life terms in prison.
Shahid Javed and Zulfiqar were convicted of killing AR Rasheed, a former Punjab deputy health secretary, in 1998. According to the FIR, they killed Rasheed after he made derogatory remarks about Ahmedi religious figures.
They were convicted and sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court and the verdict was upheld by the Lahore High Court. They then appealed to the Supreme Court to be let off. The court refused to acquit them, but lessened their punishments. The counsel representing the heirs of the deceased argued that their crime was motivated by hate for a another religion so they should not be let off.
The CJP, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, observed: “The court gives decision purely under the Constitution. References to religion or caste do not influence judges.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2010.
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