PESHAWAR: A special court on gender-based violence has acquitted a man charged with an honour-related murder of his wife and a relative here around four years ago.

The court presided over by additional district and sessions judge Shahid Mahmood pronounced that the prosecution failed to prove its case against accused Sami Ullah, a resident of Dir Colony in Peshawar, and the evidence on record did not connect him with commission of the offence.

The accused was arrested in July 2017 after he allegedly killed his wife and a male cousin over their motive of having illicit relations.

The prosecution stated that the FIR against the accused was registered on July 1, 2017, under section 302 and 311 of Pakistan Penal Code after he had voluntarily surrendered at the police station, Agha Mir Jani Shah (Yakatoth), along with a pistol, which was used in the offence.

The prosecution claimed the accused had also recorded his confessional statement wherein he had stated that his wife was having relations with his brother-in-law and he had reprimanded both of them several times, but they did not mend their ways. It was alleged that the accused had killed the male cousin outside his (cousin’s) home and later killed his wife.

Defence counsel Shabbir Hussain Gigyani contended that in the absence of any ocular evidence, his client could not be held responsible for the offence.

He contended that merely on basis of a so-called confessional statement the accused could not be convicted. He stated that there were glaring mistakes in recording of the said confession on part of the judicial officer as well as police.

He argued that while the magistrate had mentioned that the accused was produced for recording statement at around 10:30am, the report of the medical officer – to whom he was produced for medical check-up before his production before the magistrate – stated that he was produced at around 11:30am.

He stated that the prosecution witnesses had recorded conflicting statements before the trial court.

• Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2021*