KARACHI: A sessions court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment on charges of murdering the husband of a woman who had rejected his matrimonial proposal.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (West) Sohail Ahmed Mashori found Ahmed Khan guilty of killing his cousin Fayaz, who had been chosen over the accused by the woman.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs500,000 on the convict and in case of default he would have to suffer an additional six-month imprisonment.

In the verdict, the judge explained that he did not award capital punishment in view of the young age and lack of prior criminal record of the accused.

Convict killed the husband of a woman who rejected his marriage proposal in 2020

The court acquitted co-accused Muhammad Siddique and Suleman for lack of evidence.

Talking about the motive, the judge explained in the verdict that Ahmed had proposed to a girl, but she declined his marriage proposal. Subsequently, she accepted the proposal of victim Fayaz, who is accused’s cousin, and they tied the knot in May 2020, two months before the murder, he stated.

According to the prosecution, complainant Ameen Khan, the father of the victim, informed the police that he lived in a village in district Bunair and in July 2020, his son had gone to visit his uncle in Karachi, where he was murdered by accused Ahmed and other co-accused.

During the trial, the prosecution presented 14 witnesses to support its case against the accused. The state prosecutor, Muhammad Ashraf, argued that sufficient incriminating evidence had been presented to connect the accused to the crime.

The prosecutor submitted that witness testimonies, medical evidence and other relevant documents supported the case of the prosecution.

On the other hand, the defence argued that the prosecution had failed to prove the motive behind the crime. The defence counsel asked the court to acquit his client.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2024