29 October 2004	Friday	14 Ramazan 1425

PESHAWAR, Oct 28: A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court on Thursday commuted death sentence given to a man by a Qazi court for murdering his wife.

The bench comprising Justice Tariq Pervez and Justice Dost Mohammad Khan reduced the sentence to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment. The fine of Rs50,000 imposed on him by the trial court was reduced to Rs10,000.

The appellant, Zahid Hussain, had claimed that his wife had indulged in immoral activities and despite his repeated requests she did not change.

The court observed that keeping in view the circumstances of the case the sentence of the appellant was commuted.

Advocate Syed Enayat Shah appeared for the appellant and deputy advocate-general Nizar Muhammad represented the state. They informed the court that the complainant in the case, Ibrar Hussain, who is the son of the appellant, had entered into a compromise deal with him and had forgiven him.

The victim, Ms Bukhtoria, had three sons and a daughter. The appellant in his confessional statement stated that he was a driver by profession and a few years ago he had to undergo a surgery necessitated by an ailment which affected his sexual life. The convict alleged that later on he came to know that his wife was allegedly indulging in immoral activities.

The appellant stated that on the night of the occurrence in 2002 when he woke up he found his wife missing from the room. He asserted that when he came out of the room, he found his wife holding a pistol and she fired on him. In retaliation, he claimed, he also fired back, killing her on the spot.

Ibrar Hussain was complainant in the case whereas two of appellant's sons, Ikramul Haq and Nisarul Haq, were witnesses in the case.

A few months back, the Izafi zila qazi (additional district and sessions judge), Swat, had convicted the appellant under section 302 (a) of the Pakistan Penal Code and sentenced him to death.