KARACHI: Additional District and Sessions Judge (Shahdadpur) Shahid Ali Memon has sentenced a man to death on charges of killing his own daughter in the name of so-called honour.

The court found Ali Bux guilty and sentenced him to the death penalty, along with an additional 14-year imprisonment for possessing an illegal pistol used to kill his daughter, Uzma, in the name of “honour” at his house in 2022.

It imposed a fine of Rs20,000 and also directed the convict to pay Rs1million as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased, except “the murderers and those who were involved in her murder”.

In its detailed verdict, the judge observed: “In this case, an innocent girl at a very young age lost her life at the hands of her real father without any of her sin or fault. The guardians are supposed to be the protectors of the children at the time of gruesome. As per the record, the mother and other relatives of the deceased remained mum, and their silence put a question mark upon their being natural guardians, and no one even could think that a natural guardian like a father could finish the life.

“…the accused, being the real father, had ruined the right of life, liberty and right of hearing of her real daughter before awarding her any punishment. Even if she was at fault, under such circumstances, her father or any other family member got no right to kill/finish her life.

“In this case, the accused, being the father, had earned the curse of Allah Almighty and also proved himself to be a cruel man having no regard for decency, life or liberty of his own daughter. He had forgotten every moment of childhood of his daughter when she was born, and he, being her natural guardian, had definitely contributed a lot on account of her being grown up.

“Besides, the offence of murdering one’s own daughter is often sought to be justified by perpetrators under the pretext of restoring family honour and prestige.”

The judge termed the act of the accused “a grave form of violence and oppression, deeply entrenched in patriarchal customs and gender-based discrimination.

“It results in severe and far-reaching consequences for victims, their families, and society at large. Furthermore, this practice is in clear violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, including, but not limited to, the right to life, human dignity, and equality before the law therefore liable to be dealt with in accordance with the strict provisions of criminal law.”

According to the prosecution, the accused killed his daughter at his house in village Haji Musafir Brohi in the name of honour (karo kari), claiming that she had “illicit relations” with a man.

It added that police reached the crime scene, apprehended the accused, and recovered the murder weapon, while the co-accused persons managed to escape from the scene.

In his observations, the judge noted that the murder had occurred at the accused’s house, while the crime weapon and its empties were secured from the scene. He further observed that none of the legal heirs of the deceased had come forward to register a case over the killing, describing this as “clearly indicating that the accused and the absconders were involved in the murder of an innocent girl.”

On the other hand, the accused denied the allegations and claimed that he had been falsely implicated in the case.

The defence counsel contended that the accused had been implicated with mala fide intent, alleging that police had registered the FIR on behalf of the state, the very next day of the incident, to allegedly save the real culprits, without allowing sufficient time for the legal heirs to come forward and place the facts on record.

The counsel also examined the mother of the deceased as a defence witness; however, the court observed that she did not “utter a single word in favour of her husband but simply prayed for his release, stating that there was no one else to look after them”.

Regarding the absconding co-accused, Nadir Khan, the court ordered that the case file be kept dormant until his arrest.

Two separate FIRs were registered at Sarhari police station under Sections 302 (murder), 311 (ta’zir after waiver or compounding of right of qisas in qatl-i-amd), 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 23 (1) (a) of the Sindh Arms Act 2013.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2026