KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday upheld a death sentence awarded to a man by a trial court in a double murder case.

An antiterrorism court (ATC) had sentenced Mohammad Hashim, said to be an activist of a banned sectarian outfit, to death in March 2018 for killing Kareem-i-Shahwani, general manger of a textile mills and belonged to the Ismaili community, and his driver in February 2015 in North Nazimabad.

The convict through his lawyer challenged the capital punishment before the SHC and after hearing both sides and examining the record and proceedings, the two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha dismissed the appeal and maintained the verdict of the trial court.

The bench in its order observed that the case of prosecution stood proved against the appellant beyond any shadow of doubt as the appellant was arrested on the spot, eyewitnesses including an independent witness deposed against him before the trial court and the same was also corroborated by medical evidence.

Case relates to 2015 murder of businessman and his driver

It also said there was no doubt that this was a targeted killing of a prominent businessman along with his driver outside his home, which was intended and designed to create fear amongst the business community of the city who refused to pay protection money or go along with the demands of other unscrupulous criminal elements.

“The motive of murder, especially of Kareem-i-Shahwani, was to send a clear message to all the businessmen in Karachi that they should not resist demands made by the unscrupulous elements or they would meet the same fate,” it added.

The bench also observed that based on the facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the brutality of the crime, whereas two innocent persons were gunned down and they sustained three and four firearm shots respectively, the court was of the view that a deterrent sentence was the appropriate one.

It further said that the bench had come to the conclusion that the prosecution proved its case against the appellant in terms of the murder of two men, police encounter and recovery of unlicensed weapon. All the sentences of each offence handed down by the trial court, including the death penalty, were upheld, he added.

The ATC had awarded death sentence to the appellant for the offence of murder and seven years’ imprisonment each for the offences of police encounter and carrying illicit weapon.

The prosecution said the armed motorcyclists attacked the vehicle of the victims in Block-E, North Nazimabad, and a police patrolling party went after the attackers and detained one of them after a shootout.

The arrested accused was identified as M. Hashim aka Qadri Sahib while Khalid was his absconding accomplice.

The police said the detained accused allegedly belonged to a banned sectarian outfit and one of the victims belonged to the Ismaili community.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2019