KARACHI: The Election Commission of Pakistan informed the Sindh High Court on Tuesday that an application seeking disqualification of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was pending before it as it was waiting for the SHC decision on criminal appeals involving an identical matter.

The ECP in its reply placed before a two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar contended that the ECP and the petitioner in the present case had filed criminal appeals against the acquittal of Mr Shah in 2014 and the same was pending before the SHC while a review petition on a similar issue was pending before the Supreme Court.

When the bench took up a petition seeking disqualification of the Sindh chief minister for holding dual nationality while filing nomination papers for a provincial assembly seat during the general election in 2013, a law officer of the ECP filed comments.

The bench adjourned the hearing till June 22 as the petitioner sought time to submit arguments in writing after going through the ECP comments.

The ECP further contended in its reply that in light of the SC judgement handed down in 2012 in a dual nationality case, it had filed a criminal complaint against Mr Shah before the district and sessions court (Jamshoro) for allegedly filing false declarations with his nomination papers for elections to conceal his dual nationality, but the trial court dismissed it in 2014 and acquitted him.

Thereafter, it said, the ECP, as well as the present petitioner, filed criminal appeals before the SHC against the trial court order of acquitting Mr Shah, who had also contested the by-election held in 2014 and the 2018 general election on a provincial assembly seat and was declared as a returned candidate twice.

The ECP further maintained that the petitioner in the present case had filed an application before the ECP in 2014 to issue a notification disqualifying Mr Shah for five years in the light of the apex court judgement.

“After hearing both the parties i.e. petitioner and respondent, the Election Commission vide order dated 19.01.2015, adjourned the said matter sine-die till the decision of hon’ble high court of Sindh on criminal appeals, filed by the present petitioner as well as the answering respondents,” the ECP in its reply said.

Petitioner Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi, a regular litigant, in his petition argued that the apex court had disqualified Mr Shah and others in the dual nationality case, but with the alleged help/connivance of the ECP he contested the by-election in 2014 and the general election of 2018.

Death sentence upheld

The SHC has upheld the death sentence awarded by a trial court to a man for the murder of his wife.

The Additional District and Sessions Court, also known as Model Court, East, sentenced Sabir Hussain to death in July 2019 after holding him guilty of stabbing his wife, Khairun Nisa, to death in January 2012 at the house of his in-laws in Landhi.

The convict through his lawyer had challenged the conviction before the SHC.

After hearing both sides and examining the record and proceedings of the case, the two-judge bench comprising Justice K.K. Agha and Justice Abdul Mobeen Lakho threw out the appeal and maintained the trial court’s order.

The bench observed that on perusal of record, it could not find any space to entertain any hypothesis other than the guilt of the appellant.

About the motive for the killing, the bench said that since the uncongenial matrimonial relationship of the couple was not disputed and rather admitted by the appellant in his statement before the trial court, this motive cannot be discounted or considered as inconceivable.

The recovery of crime weapon (dagger) had provided additional corroboration to evidence of prosecution, including testimonies of three last seen witnesses, which provided a chain of events connecting the appellant with the commission of offence, medical and other documentary evidence, the court said.

In its judgement it further said that as per prosecution, disputes had started to arise shortly after the marriage of the couple and the appellant was residing in the house of his in-laws while the appellant took the plea that he was residing in a rented house, but he neither produced any defence witness nor any rent agreement before the trial court.

It further observed that the appellant stabbed his wife multiple times and such conduct clearly showed that he was a cruel and desperate person who deserved no sympathy in the matter of his sentence.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2021