July 25, 2002	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 14,1423

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ISLAMABAD, July 24: The Supreme Court on Wednesday took notice of the reported compromise between two parties in Mianwali about the pardoning of four convicts, and directed the sessions judge to submit a report in this regard within three days.

Chief Justice Shaikh Riaz Ahmad, in his order, ruled: “The compromise deal as reported in the press, prima facie, appears to have been reached in violation of the law of the land and against the norms of the civilized world”.

The chief justice took the suo motu notice after reading a news item in Dawn’s issue of July 24 headlined “Girls & gold save four from gallows”. The report said the family of Sardar Khan, Mohammad Akram Khan, Mohammad Ashraf Khan and Asmatullah Khan, who were awarded death in a double murder case by the sessions judge of Mianwali, had struck a deal.

It said that after the rejection of the appeals by the superior courts, and the mercy petition of the convicts by the president of Pakistan, the parties entered into a compromise deal with the help of prominent people of the area, like Malik Asad of Kalabagh, whereby the accused party agreed to pay Rs8 million as compensation, besides giving the hands of eight unmarried girls to the men of the complainant side. One of the girls, 18, would be married to an 80-year-old man.

The Chief Justice directed the office to register it as a suo motu case and called report from the sessions judge of Mianwali within three days.

Reuters adds: The apex court, in a statement, told the police to investigate the deal.