PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has rejected the bail plea of a man suspected of committing two honour-related murders in Chakdara area last year.

Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim of a single-member bench observed that the accused, Umer Daraz, had directly been named for the murder of his sister-in-law at the house of his brother.

The bench observed that there was a prima facie case against the petitioner and it was a pre-planned coldblooded murder committed in the name of honour in light of the medical evidence and other circumstantial evidence available on record.

PHC observes there is prima facie evidence of his involvement in crime

It added that more than one year had passed since the charge was framed against the accused and that most of the prosecution witnesses had been examined.

The bench observed that prima facie, the accused was linked with the commission of the offence and as such was not entitled to the concession of bail.

It directed the trial court to record the statements of the remaining witnesses and observed that no unnecessary adjournment should be granted without genuine reason.

The petitioner was charged along with his brothers, including Said Daraz and Arshad Ali, in an FIR registered at the Chakdara police station on May 22, 2020, under sections 302, 311 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The complainant in the case was Qaiser Khan, brother of the deceased, Nasir Khan.

The complainant had alleged that his brother was invited by one of the accused Said Daraz to his residence for an Iftar party and was also told that they would talk about a land deal.

He, however, claimed that Said Daraz along with his brothers, including Umer Daraz and Arshad Ali, had killed his wife and Nasir by stabbing them with sharp-edged weapons.

The complainant alleged that they had no enmity with the accused persons and the accused had killed the deceased persons on pretext of honour.

The petitioner’s counsel contended that his client was falsely implicated in the instant case. He added that the petitioner had no previous record of any crime.

The lawyer said that the petitioner had also been suffering from epilepsy and he his condition had further been aggravating inside the prison.

He said that the knife used in the occurrence was allegedly recovered on pointation of the prime accused, Said Daraz, whereas there was no evidence against the present petitioner which could connect him with the commission of the offence. He added that the despite no evidence against him the police had implicated him as co-accused along with the prime accused, Said Daraz.

Additional advocate general Razauddin Khan and advocate Allahdad Khan appeared for the state and complainant, respectively and stated that the petitioner was directly charged in the FIR.

They said the deceased were killed in a brutal manner and the petitioner didn’t deserve the release on bail.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2022