PESHAWAR, May 31: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday upheld the capital punishment awarded to a person by a trial court in 2004 for killing an Afghan refugee. A two-member bench comprising Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai and Justice Fazalur Rehman Khan dismissed the appeal filed by Sajjad Masih and observed that the prosecution had proved its case against him.

The appellant was sentenced to death and fined Rs100,000 by the Kohat additional district and sessions judge, Anwer Ali Khan, on March 27, 2004. He underwent the trial for killing Zafar, an Afghan who dealt in crockery, in the jurisdiction of the Kohat cantonment police station on April 23, 2001.

The complainant in the case was Sadiq Masih, a resident of the area where the crime was committed. Sadiq said that he heard a gunshot near his residence and when he went out he saw Zafar lying injured and the appellant escaping.

The appellant was arrested and the police recovered from his possession a pistol. The police claimed that the appellant was trying to rob Zafar and killed him upon resistance.

Advocate Aftab Khan Khobai appeared for the deceased’s family and contended that the appellant was caught red-handed and the weapon used in the offence was also recovered form his possession.