KARACHI: An antiterrorism court (ATC) on Friday sentenced two brothers to life imprisonment for murdering their business partner over a financial dispute.

The ATC-II judge found Muhammad Shahid and Muhammad Zahid guilty of killing 24-year-old Zaheem Hassan, cutting the body into pieces and dumping the remains in different areas.

The court ruled that both the brothers were convicted of offences under Section 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs10,000 on each convict. The verdict was pronounced after recording evidence at the Judicial Complex inside the Central Prison Karachi.

The judge also directed them to pay Rs2 million as compensation to the heirs of deceased Zaheem. On default, they would undergo additional six months in prison.

According to state prosecutor Pervez Ghumro, on Aug 24, 2019, the body parts of victim Zaheem, packed in a carton, were found in the Sharafi Goth area.

Subsequently, Rangers set up a special team and with the help of intelligence-based information, the paramilitary force conducted a raid in a Korangi locality and apprehended Shahid and Zahid, who confessed to the police at that time that they had killed Zaheem over a financial dispute.

During the interrogation, it was revealed that the convicts and the victim were business partners. The victim had given them Rs3.6 million to run the business, but the convicts did not give him the agreed profit share.

When the victim insisted on getting his share of the partnership, the convicted brothers invited him to their home, where they strangled him with a piece of rope, and cut his body into 10 pieces, which they dumped in Sharafi Goth, Landhi and Korangi.

On their information, Rangers recovered the remaining body parts in Korangi and Landhi while the other remains were found in Sharafi Goth.

A case was registered at the Korangi police station under Sections 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 302 (murder), 201 (disappearance of evidence of the offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 34 (common intention) of the PPC read with Section 7 of the ATA.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2024