KARACHI: A sessions court has sentenced a street criminal to death and life imprisonment to his three accomplices in a case pertaining to the murder of an 18-year-old student during a robbery in 2021.

The additional district and sessions judge (Central) found accused Muhammad Bilal and his three accomplices — Zubair, Shahid Qureshi and Israr alias Nanno — guilty of robbing Osama Saeed and Zeeshan in Gharbeenabad and killing the former over resistance on Feb 20, 2021.

The court handed down death sentence to convict Bilal on two counts and five-year additional imprisonment for the offence of robbery.

The judge observed that the “offence had been committed against a young boy of 18 years of age, in a brutal, flagitious, ruthless and atrocious manner”, which warranted the maximum punishment.

The court sentenced the three co-accused to life imprisonment.

It directed the four convicts to pay Rs2 million each to the legal heirs of the deceased as compensation.

Advocate Zakir Hussain Bughio, counsel for the deceased’s family, told Dawn that Osama Saeed had come to mechanic Zeeshan’s workshop and both were sitting in a car when four accused persons riding two motorcycles approached them. The accused robbed them at gunpoint and then shot dead Osama, apprehending that he might resist.

The counsel added that the four accused had already been convicted in 2022. However, the Sindh High Court had remanded the case back to the trial court for recording of the statements of prosecution witnesses in the presence of the defence counsel.

A case was registered at the Sharifabad police station under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 392 (punishment for robbery), 397 (robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2026