Questionable acquittal

Published October 20, 2022

IN Pakistan, while convicts from poor families are sent to the gallows, the rich and powerful accused of committing crimes get off scot-free, simply by gaming the system. This appears to be the case in the acquittal by the Supreme Court on Tuesday of Shahrukh Jatoi and his co-accused in the 2012 murder of young Shahzeb Khan.

To recall, Shahzeb was murdered in cold blood in a revenge killing by Jatoi and his accomplices after the youth scuffled with the men, who had been harassing his sister. Despite being nominated in a murder case, Jatoi managed to flee the country and had to be brought back to Pakistan on court orders. Thereafter, a strange legal saga ensued, in which an ATC sentenced the accused to death for murder but the victim’s parents pardoned them later. The Sindh High Court then ordered a retrial and commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment. When the accused took their appeals to the apex court, the apex court ended up acquitting them.

Read: How to get away with murder — Pakistan edition

It is pertinent to ask on what basis the convicts have been acquitted, especially after the victim’s mother had in the past publicly said “we can’t live our lives in fear”, indicating there was pressure on the family to reach a compromise. In a similar case, the family of Nazim Jokhio, murdered earlier this year allegedly at the behest of two PPP lawmakers, has also filed a compromise petition, though the slain man’s mother had earlier complained they were being pressured by the suspects.

These loopholes in the legal system need to be plugged lest more rich and powerful convicts walk away free by ‘buying justice’ in the name of compromise or forgiveness. Murder should be a non-compoundable offence, and as legal experts point out, even if religious injunctions are invoked, the heirs can forgive only if the murder is not premeditated. In the aforementioned cases, there is strong evidence to suggest that both victims were deprived of their lives for wounding a powerful man’s pride.

In the Shahzeb murder case, the attorney general of Pakistan’s office has said it would file a review petition “in the interest of justice” as the AGP’s view had not been taken into account. It is hoped that justice is done in both the Shahzeb Khan and Nazim Jokhio cases. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s criminal justice system needs to seriously address the lacunae that allow influential convicts to get away even after committing the most heinous of crimes.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.